Abuja, July 16, 2023 – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is investigating the death of a child allegedly killed by a stray bullet from gunshot by one of its officers during a raid of a drug joint at Okpanam area of Asaba, Delta State,
The child died while undergoing treatment in an hospital.
Femi Babafemi, its Spokesman, said in a statement that the NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), after receiving initial briefings from the agency’s Delta State Command, set up a panel of top officials from the national headquarters in Abuja to immediately proceed to Asaba for an on-the-spot investigation of the incident.
According to the statement, this follows an initial incident report, which revealed the following:
“A team of NDLEA operatives carried out an intelligence-based raid of the joint of a notorious drug dealer located at Okpanam area of Asaba at about 1600 hours on Thursday 13th July.
“In the process of the operation, a Toyota Camry 2008 model, light blue colour at the scene suddenly zoomed off and knocked down one of our officers who is currently in critical condition, undergoing treatment in a hospital.
“In a bid to demobilize the car and prevent it from escaping, another officer fired a shot aimed at the tyre of the car, which eventually escaped.
“While the injured officer was rushed for treatment, the officers got reports of a stray bullet hitting a young person and immediately located the father of the victim, followed him to the hospital and supported in facilitating his treatment, but the person unfortunately died in the process.
“We’re in touch with the family to provide necessary assistance while we conclude our investigation of the incident. We would like to assure the family and members of the public that we’ll get to the root of the case and take necessary action(s),” the NDLEA said. (GBN)
