A female student of the Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, has been allegedly shot dead by a member of a vigilance group at a party where she was celebrating her graduation.
It was gathered the student, Uloko Laurenta Apaume, a Banking and Finance graduate, was killed on Friday night by a stray bullet from the vigilante, who was at the party to provide security for the celebrating students.
It was gathered that the students had invited some members of a vigilante group to their night graduating party to provide security for them.
It was learned that in the spirit of the celebration, members of the vigilance group had fired shots into the air, but the gun refused to fire.
It was gathered that tragedy struck when the vigilante lowered his gun to find out why the gun did not fire.
According to one of the students, “The vigilante was lowering the gun to know why it failed to release bullet after firing and in the process the bullet discharge itself and accidentally killed the girl on the spot.”
He added that the development cause panic as the celebrating students scampered for safety.
Edo State Commissioner of Police, Babatunde Johnson Kokumo, who confirmed the incident, said it was clearly a misadventure and not an intentional killing.
He said the female student after completing her HND final examination was celebrating with her colleagues when the incident occurred.
He said, “The vigilance men, according to the report of the divisional police officer on the ground, had been invited by the students and it was in the night.
“It was clearly a misadventure; it was not an intentional killing as there is no record of any sort that there had been malice between the late student or any student for that matter and the vigilance men.
“So, the vigilance man had an accidental discharge so to say while the celebration was on,”
According to him, the suspect was already in custody, assuring that the police are doing everything to pacify the students so that there would be no reprisal attack on innocent citizens.
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