By Austine Agbo Emmanuel, Kaduna
The Kaduna State Police Command has confirmed the killing of a senior officer of the Nigerian Navy, Lieutenant Commander M. Buba, who was stabbed to death by a suspected robber near the Kawo flyover in Kaduna.
The officer, a student at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, was attacked late Sunday night while attempting to fix a flat tyre on his vehicle.
Eyewitnesses said the suspected assailant emerged from a nearby dark spot and confronted the officer, demanding his mobile phone. When the officer resisted, he was fatally stabbed in the chest with a sharp object believed to be a locally fabricated knife.
A member of a local vigilante group, Suleiman Dahiru, who tried to intervene, was also injured in the hand during the struggle.
Confirming the incident on Monday in a phone interview with NewsDirect Newspaper, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Kaduna, ASP Mansir Hassan, said the attacker was lynched by an angry mob shortly after committing the crime.
“The assailant was killed by the mob at the scene before our men arrived,” Hassan said.
He also disclosed that the police had launched a sweeping operation across strategic black spots within the metropolis, which led to the arrest of 27 suspects.
“We have intensified surveillance and patrols around Kawo and other areas of concern. So far, we’ve arrested 27 suspects as part of ongoing efforts to rid the city of criminal elements,” he added.
The naval officer was rushed to Manaal Hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival. His remains have been deposited at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna.
Security operatives, including troops, police, and civil defense personnel, are continuing covert operations in various parts of the city, especially around known crime-prone zones such as bridges, bus terminals, and isolated corners.
The incident has sparked fresh concerns over growing insecurity in parts of Kaduna metropolis, particularly attacks targeting commuters and motorists in the evenings.