Trigger-happy A fashion designer was shot by State Security Service (SSS) agents in Garki International Market, Abuja, during an incident with Muhammad Habibu, a tailor, as well as other vendors and other people.
Mubarak Mubarak was the victim, according to reports.
A person shot in the leg was seen lying on the ground before a police officer who was attempting to calm the scene in a viral video of the incident.
One of the SSS agents climbed into the already-occupied seats of their vehicle and sped off while people present confronted the secret police for their behavior. The crowd threw debris at the agents’ van as they fled. Eventually, police intervened to prevent the SSS operatives from being lynched by the mob, driving the irate throng away.
An X user, one of many who posted a video of the incident, said, “On the evening of Sept. 7, 2023, A lady called some @OfficialDSSNG personnel to arrest her tailor who didn’t deliver her clothes. They came and not only shot him (tailor) but a stray bullet hit an innocent sales girl sitting at her shop. The action of the personnel angered marketers who attempted to block them from leaving the market. The personnel quickly took to their heels while the marketers pelted their vehicle with stones.”
The salesgirl and the tailor were said to have been taken to a hospital.
The FCT police command confirmed the violent incident in a statement on Thursday.
Its spokeswoman, Josephine Adeh, said the cause of the violence was “an altercation” between market occupants and certain individuals, including an SSS agent and Mr Habibu.
“The Garki Divisional Police station mobilised officers in response to a distress call, reporting the invasion of the market by these individuals, who fired shots at a tailor known as Mubarak Mubarak. This incident led to some of the local youths reacting angrily and attempting to confront the DSS personnel involved,” the police statement explained. “In response, the police intervened to rescue the individuals and protect public safety.”
The SSS said it had launched an investigation into the market shooting and ensuing violence involving its operatives.
“Information at the disposal of the Service was that its FCT command responded to an SOS from their field operatives who allegedly came under a mob attack in the said market,” the SSS said in a statement by its spokesman, Peter Afunanya.
It added, “The Service assures that it will not hesitate to mete out proper disciplinary measure(s) to its staff if found culpable or running foul of standard operating procedures on dealing with a member of the public.”
