Son of Abuja Chief Imam Killed Amid Land Dispute in Bwari

Tragedy struck the Kuchibuyi community in Bwari, Abuja, on Saturday as Attahiru Abubakar, son of the Chief Imam, was fatally shot during a violent confrontation reportedly linked to a land dispute. His brother, Abass Abubakar, sustained gunshot injuries and is currently receiving treatment in a hospital.

The deceased’s father, Imam Abubakar Yaqub, was also said to have been wounded in the incident.

According to initial police reports, officers from the Byazin and Kubwa Divisions responded to a distress call over civil unrest in the area. FCT Police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, stated that the unrest stemmed from a communal land disagreement, stressing that the police acted only to restore calm.

“It is important to clarify that the issue is a communal dispute and not in any way related to the police,” Adeh said in a statement.

She added that several arrests had been made and that the situation was under control. The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, condemned alleged attacks on police officers by community youths and vowed that any such actions would be met with firm legal response.

However, residents of the community have rejected the police account, claiming that the shooting was indiscriminate and left three people injured, including the Imam. Family members of the victims say the police opened fire after being called in by an estate developer who allegedly attempted to forcefully seize local land.

“The estate manager brought soldiers and vigilantes, and after an earlier standoff, police later returned with a task force and started shooting,” said Sanusi Abubakar, a brother of the deceased.

“My brother Attahiru died immediately from a gunshot to the chest. My second brother, Abass, is hospitalised, and our father, the Chief Imam, was also shot,” he added.

Another eyewitness, speaking anonymously out of fear of reprisal, corroborated the claims. The witness also accused the police of trying to downplay the incident by not acknowledging the shootings in their official statement.

Photographs seen by reporters show Attahiru’s lifeless body with a gunshot wound in his upper chest and another image showing his body wrapped in cloth shortly after the incident.

When pressed further on Sunday for clarification regarding the omission of shooting details in the initial release, the police spokesperson declined to comment further, only referring journalists to her earlier statement.

The tragic death of Attahiru Abubakar adds to the growing number of Nigerians who have lost their lives in controversial encounters involving security forces, reigniting concerns about alleged police brutality and land-related conflicts in rural communities.