A fruit vendor in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, Abdulkadir Musa, has been shot dead by a gunman suspected to be a soldier for refusing to allow the assailant to go away with his bunch of bananas without paying for it.

The father of the deceased, Alhaji Mustafa Musa, told PUNCH Metro that two soldiers went to his son’s fruits stand on Sunday and purchased a bunch of bananas.

According to him, when the soldiers paid for the bunch, they tried to collect another one for free and this led to a squabble.

Mustafa stated, “They bought a bunch bananas for N300 and instead of them to take the one they paid for, they also took another one and wanted to go with it, but my son did not allow them to do so.

“When they insisted that they must go with the bunch of bananas, the fruit vendor rushed to the police station, which was very close to the scene of the incident, and reported the case and the two soldiers were arrested, but they were released shortly after.”

Mustafa added that immediately the soldiers were released, one of them went home, fetched a gun and returned to the scene and shot the fruit vendor.

“My son was shot in the back and we took him to the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, but unfortunately, he lost his life,” Mustafa said.

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The father added that he reported the issue to all relevant authorities, including the Human Rights Commission, so that action could be taken against the soldier, who killed his son.

“I have reported the case to the concerned authorities and I will not rest until the soldier is punished to serve as a deterrent to others,” Mustafa added.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Mohammed Shehu, told PUNCH Metro that the command was investigating the incident.

“We are investigating the issue,” Shehu said.