NSCDC suspends officer over alleged Kubwa market shooting
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has suspended a Deputy Superintendent of Corps, Onoja Babayo Samuel, and ordered internal disciplinary proceedings following his arrest over an alleged shooting at a market in Kubwa, Abuja.
The suspension was announced in a statement attributed to NSCDC spokesperson Babawale Afolabi on October 29. Police said the confrontation occurred on October 25.
The case involves a police investigation and a separate internal disciplinary process. Neither the arrest nor the suspension establishes the officer’s guilt.
Police account of the Kubwa market shooting
FCT Police spokesperson Josephine Adeh said the Kubwa Police Division received a distress call at about 1:50pm on October 25 reporting that an armed man was firing shots into the air at the market.
In the police statement reported on October 28, Adeh said officers deployed to the scene disarmed and arrested the suspect, identified as Onoja Samuel, a Deputy Superintendent of Corps with the NSCDC.
According to the police account, preliminary findings indicated that he had gone to the market with a pistol after receiving reports that some traders had assaulted his wife. Police alleged that he fired several shots into the air during an ensuing argument. The alleged assault has not been independently verified.
Police said a CZ pistol and 17 rounds of live 9mm ammunition were recovered during the arrest.
NSCDC orders disciplinary trial
According to reports carrying the NSCDC statement, Commandant-General Ahmed Abubakar Audi directed the officer’s immediate suspension and an Orderly Room Trial to determine his culpability.
The corps described the alleged conduct as a breach of its operational standards. It said Samuel had been relieved of his assignment and official responsibilities pending the proceedings.
A committee at the corps’ national headquarters would handle the disciplinary process, the statement said.
Investigation and disciplinary outcome awaited
The police statement said the suspect would be charged after investigations. The material reviewed does not establish whether charges have since been filed or whether his custody status has changed. It also does not establish whether anyone was injured or property was damaged. No response from the officer or his legal representative was located.
The next developments are the police charging decision and the internal disciplinary proceedings. The NSCDC said it would make the outcome of its process public.
