Naval Officer fatally stabbed by phone thief in Kaduna

Kaduna – Tragedy struck in Kaduna over the weekend as a Naval officer was brutally stabbed to death by a phone thief while attempting to fix a flat tyre near the pedestrian bridge in Kawo, Kaduna North Local Government Area.

Sources revealed that the victim was undergoing a course at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State.

According to military sources, the officer, a senior course participant at AFCSC Jaji, had stopped at a bus stop near the bridge on his way back to Jaji when the incident occurred.

An eyewitness recounted that the officer was approached by an unidentified assailant who demanded his mobile phone. When the officer resisted, he was stabbed in the chest with a locally made knife.

The injured officer was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival. His body has been deposited at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital mortuary in Kaduna.

A local vigilante who attempted to intervene during the scuffle was also stabbed in the hand. However, the attacker was overpowered by a crowd that gathered at the scene and was lynched on the spot.

“The thief was overpowered by the people and killed instantly,” a witness confirmed.

Military authorities have since launched an investigation to uncover the full circumstances surrounding the officer’s death.

The Kaduna State Police Command is yet to issue an official statement on the incident.