“Soldiers Killed my Son Because of their Girl Friend”, Mother of Deceased Benjamin Izang Alleged

By Our Reporter

Some soldiers under the Operation  Save Haven (STF) has tourtured and  killed a 31 years old man, Mr  Benjamin Izang, an indigene of Jos North in Plateau state over a girl  friend issue. 

The soldiers and the  girl who  were  involved in the death  of  Mr Benjamin  are  currently on the run, as  the  body  of the  late Benjamin has  been  deposited  at  the Jos  University Teaching Hospital.

The  mother  of  the  deceased narrated what transpired that led to inhuman tourture  to death of  their late  son,  Benjamin during  an  interview with  Journalists in  the  family house  at Agwan Rukuba Area in Jos  North during a press  confrence  held  by the  Afizere  Youth Movement to condemn the  brutal killing  of one of their  own. 

The  mother  of  the  late  Benjamin said on this  fateful  day, 4th  of  February, 2020,

“I was getting  ready for  evening  service which  is  around  4pm trying to  take  my bath when I received call  from  my neighbors within  the  community called mama  Titi.” She  further  said  she  abandoned  her  bath  and  rushed to  the  place.

“only  to  meet  the gathering  of  people and  the  woman  who  called  me  on phone said  is  your son  that  the  army have  been torturing  since “.

“when  I was  trying to  see my son, I was  told  that good Samaritan has  taken  him  home, I did  not  talk  to the  soldiers because their present look  very  unfriendly and  people  said  I should not  talk  to  them I ingnorned them and returned  home. ”

“I met my son  crying  with  excruciating  pain  holding  his  legs, meanwhile before  getting  home, his  brother  had  put  water  on the  fire  to treat  the  legs  which the Army  totally  disfigured and the  bones  broken.”

I put  a  call  through to my  sister,  a Pharmacist with Jos University  Teaching  Hospital to  recommend any effective pain  reliever for  me for  him  to  take, may  be  it  will  reduce  the  pain. 

“which  she  recommend  and  send  one  of  the brothers to  the Pharmacy in the area “Lamed” to  buy  the  recommended pain  relievers while  the  local doctor  was  attending to  the piece  bone which  I believe they used heavy object on him.”

She  further  added  that “before  the person  I sent  to  buy  the  drugs could  come  back, the person  dressing  the  bones  had  finished  and  gone while the  late  Benjamin was  sitting relaxing  on chair. 

“I noticed  he  was not making any  move, I call  the attention  of  the  brother  to  check  him, and then replied  in Hausa language that I don’t think he  is  alive, when I touched  him, his  body was already  cold. ”

She  said  all  these  are  happening  within  two  hours  when he was  released  from  the  killer  soldiers and  the time  he  finally died. 

She lamented that nobody  has  before  now  come  to  report  the  late  Benjamin  to her  or  any other person in the family. 

“What  I heard  is  that  he  was  having  argument  with a girl  selling  eggs, if that is  true, what  is the  business of Army?When  has  Army turned police? These  questions  I would  want  the government  to  help and  provide  answers  to.”

“What  I want  now is justice. I want  the  government to provide  the  killer  soldier to  face  the  full  wrath of the  law. This will  serve  as  deterant to some  of  the  soldiers within the  system operating  without  regards  to the law. ”

The elder brother  of the  late Benjamin corroborated the  mother’s  narratives and  called for  justice  over  the  gruesome killing  of  his brother by men of  Operation  Save  Havens.

He  called  the  on the authorities  to do something about the STF in the  community by  extension, in  the  state, as they  had  killed a d  maimed innocent  people  in  the community with every  slightest provocation. 

“Even  the  aged  are  not  spared from  the  butality of these soldiers called Operation Save Haven.”

It  would  be recalled that  STF which comprises of all the  Armed and  paramilitary forces  was formed and drafted  to  the state during  the  dark  days of  Jos  crisis. 

They  had  severally been accused  of aiding  and abbeting  crisis  in the  state, the allegations they have consistently denied.