A tragic incident occurred in Makurdi on Friday morning as Miss Emmanuella Ahenjir, a 23-year-old student of Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, was allegedly shot dead by unidentified police personnel at the Wurukum roundabout.
Emmanuella, a 200-level student of Business Management, was said to be riding in a vehicle with a young male driver when the police reportedly opened fire on them.
According to an eyewitness account, the pair were coming from the Gyado Villa axis of the town and were approaching the Wurukum checkpoint around 7:30 a.m. when the shooting took place.
“The girl and a young male driver were in the vehicle around 7:30 a.m. when the incident happened,” the witness said.
“They were driving from the Gyado Villa part of the town and got to Wurukum when Police personnel at the checkpoint suddenly flagged down the Toyota car they were driving in, and when the boy driving the vehicle couldn’t stop the vehicle, the police personnel allegedly opened fire on the car.
“Sadly the girl was hit by bullet, she was rushed to the hospital unfortunately she died from the bullet wound after losing so much blood.”
The incident has sparked widespread outrage and heightened tension across Makurdi, with multiple civil society organizations (CSOs) and concerned groups warning of mass protests if the matter is not swiftly addressed.
Gender Rights Activist, Ukan Kurugh, condemned the incident and issued a warning to the authorities.
“Makurdi might face a lockdown from next Tuesday if the State Police Command fails to do justice to the matter,” he said.
Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Catherine Anene, for comment proved unsuccessful at the time of this report.
