OUTRAGE is sweeping through Okpo in Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi State following the alleged torture and killing of Andrew Amehson Aziko, a mentally ill final-year student, by security guards at Nana College of Health, Ibana Okpo, in what residents describe as the second alleged case of extrajudicial killing in the council area within two months.
News Point Nigeria reports that the incident, which reportedly occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, April 28, 2026, first came to public attention through a post by former Secretary of Olamaboro Local Government Area, Hon. Danjuma Onoja, who called for an immediate investigation into the matter.
“At the early hours of today, Tuesday, 28 April 2026, a life was taken wrongly at Nana College of Health, Ibana Okpo. I call on the Chairman of the Local Government to please investigate this matter thoroughly so that the perpetrators of this act are brought to book,” Onoja wrote.
The development has triggered widespread anger across the community, especially after disturbing footage of the incident surfaced online.
The footage, also circulated by Abubakar Ibrahim Idoko, allegedly showed Andrew being repeatedly beaten with batons by the school’s security guards before he was shot multiple times in the head, abdomen and back.
His remains have since been deposited in a morgue pending formal identification and verification.
In the video, Andrew was heard pleading in Igala, asking the guards to “touch his hand” before acting against him.
Residents who watched the footage said it was evident from the exchange that the security operatives knew and recognised him personally, as he even called one of them by name.
When asked who sent him, Andrew reportedly replied: “My father.”
One of the guards allegedly responded: “You are lying because your father is late,” a statement many residents interpreted as proof that the victim was a familiar face in the community.
Community sources said Andrew’s late father was a popular socialite and former lecturer at Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba.
Preliminary accounts further indicated that the deceased was a final-year student on the Anyigba campus of Nana College of Health and was regarded as peaceful and well-behaved by those who knew him, including his landlady in Anyigba.
Reacting to the video in the Okpo Unity Initiative WhatsApp group, a resident, Sunday Fedejo, questioned the justification for the treatment meted out to the victim.
“What exactly did he steal from them that warrants him to be treated in this manner? Very, very unfortunate,” he said.
Responding through a voice note in the same group, Hon. Onoja clarified that Andrew “didn’t steal anything.”
According to him, the deceased had been battling mental health issues and was brought home from Anyigba for treatment before escaping from a rehabilitation centre and wandering to the school where the tragic incident occurred.
He lamented that the incident was already putting the local government in a bad light.
Residents also maintained that despite his mental health condition, Andrew was never associated with criminality or social vices before the incident.
A cousin of the deceased, Monday Ujah, corroborated Onoja’s account in another voice note circulated in the group.
He described the incident as “abysmal, disheartening and pathetic.”
“This happened in Olamaboro where we grew up, and I never heard of this kind of callous behaviour, where brothers have no sympathy for their kith and kin to the extent of killing him,” he said.
Ujah condemned the action as barbaric and stressed that Andrew had no criminal record.
He also criticised the management of Nana College of Health and some individuals calling for calm, noting that the school authorities had yet to visit the bereaved family despite the incident occurring on the institution’s campus.
He lamented that if Andrew’s father were still alive, he would have pursued justice against the security guards without delay.
Ujah further called on the Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development as well as the Local Government Chairman to intensify efforts toward ensuring justice and preventing a recurrence.
He warned that failure to act decisively could provoke retaliation from grieving families or plunge the community into unrest.
“It is akin to how Boko Haram started after the killing of their leader in 2009 in Maiduguri,” he warned.
Abubakar Ibrahim Idoko, who also shared details of the incident online, argued that even if the victim had committed an offence, he did not deserve to be killed.
“Even if we assume, without conceding, that he was a hardened criminal or involved in illicit activities, the fact remains that at that moment, he appeared unarmed and posed no immediate threat,” Idoko wrote.
“No individual or group has the legal authority to take a life under such circumstances.”
“A trigger was pulled, and with it, his voice was silenced, his pleas cut short, and his right to due process extinguished. Regardless of any alleged wrongdoing, justice must never be replaced with brutality.”
Another resident condemned the conduct of the security guards, describing the killing as “man’s inhumanity to man.”
“The annoying thing about this was the trigger that silenced him was pulled not by bandits or terrorists but by known faces — people employed by the school as security guards to maintain law and order and protect lives on campus,” the resident said.
“They pulled the trigger instead of giving him a hand to hold to stand up as he requested. Who even knows what he wanted to say if he was given the hand?”
Another resident, Sherifat Zakari, stressed that failure to punish those responsible could lead to future occurrences.
“If any action isn’t taken, this might still happen next time. This guy really needs justice. This is so painful,” she said.
Residents noted that the killing marks the second reported case of alleged extrajudicial killing in Olamaboro within two months involving local security actors.
In the earlier incident, a young man reportedly died after members of a local vigilante group assaulted him in a remote area of the council.
According to witnesses, the deceased’s mother had invited vigilantes to intervene in a fight between him and his sister, but the youth was allegedly beaten severely after being accused of wrongdoing.
His death reportedly sparked anger and grief among relatives who demanded justice.
Residents said the repeated incidents and alleged impunity have left many people living in fear.
They also alleged that during protests over the earlier vigilante incident, innocent youths from the community were arrested following clashes with security personnel.
Some of the youths, they claimed, are still being detained by the Police and the Department of State Services (DSS), leaving their families distressed.
“The youth are angered by these extrajudicial killings as it seems to be a recurring issue in the locality, and if nothing is done, it may lead to a breakdown of law and order in the community,” a resident who pleaded anonymity said.
The incident has also generated widespread reactions on social media and WhatsApp platforms.
A resident identified as Adam Suleiman, also known as Distinguished Senator in the group, compared the incident with a recent police shooting in Effurun, Delta State.
“Sometimes it is like we are on the wrong side of the world. See how the guy that was shot by police in Delta dey trend online. That’s how justice is quickly gotten. We are experiencing similar things in our place right now, no news even report it,” he lamented.
Another contributor, Richard, popularly known as Rich Express, criticised community stakeholders over what he described as their failure to address previous incidents decisively.
“If the Local Government Chairman had really handled the same incident in Ukoh village last time, history would not have repeated itself,” he said.
He described the killing of Andrew as “pure wickedness and unprofessional” conduct by the school’s security guards.
“The same commissioner we are talking about here also heard what happened at Ukoh, but they all slept over it. That is why the so-called vigilantes and security guards keep acting like thugs,” he added.
“Imagine hitting an innocent fellow this way without any feeling. What stopped them from taking him to a nearby police station, for crying out loud? Are these people really human beings?”
Reacting to Hon. Onoja’s post, the Chairman of Olamaboro Local Government Area, Hon. Williams Ameh, said he had not yet received an official briefing on the matter but was already taking necessary action.
In a follow-up post, Onoja disclosed that some youths were preparing to stage a protest at the school.
“I like the way you guys are going about this matter. Information reaching me is that the youths are preparing to lead a protest to the school tomorrow. The ball is in the court of the chief security officer of the local government for now,” he wrote.
In response, the Local Government Chairman appealed for calm and warned residents against taking the law into their own hands.
“Nobody should put me under pressure of begging DSS/Police again biko! Please, nobody should take the law into his/her hands. Let us allow justice to prevail,” Ameh stated.
Meanwhile, the President of the Okpo Unity Initiative WhatsApp group, Ganiyu Ellah, also appealed for calm, saying authorities had commenced investigations.
“From privileged information, investigation is ongoing. The Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development and the Local Government Chairman have taken necessary steps to enable the family of the deceased to get justice. Everyone should remain calm and avoid anything capable of causing more unrest in the community,” he said.
However, not all residents appeared convinced by the assurances from authorities.
Responding in the group, Jay aTech World wrote: “And after all those words, nothing meaningful ever followed. No transparency, no accountability, no justice that the family could truly see or trust.”
Idoko subsequently urged the Local Government Chairman to launch a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident.
“Those found culpable must be held accountable in accordance with the law,” he said.
He also suggested that Nana College of Health should suspend academic activities temporarily pending the outcome of investigations.
“The question is: whose family will be next? No one knows. That is precisely why justice must prevail,” he added.
Also reacting, Emmanuel Jacob, a senior lecturer at Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, called for the institution to be officially sealed pending investigations.
“For due process and credibility, the institution should first be officially sealed by the appropriate government authorities,” he said.
“This will secure the premises, preserve evidence, and allow a thorough, transparent and unbiased investigation. It demonstrates seriousness, accountability, and respect for established procedures, and reassures the public that the matter will be handled with integrity and in line with the rule of law.”
As of press time, the Kogi State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the killing of Andrew Amehson Aziko.
Editor’s Note: This report is based on posts and video footage shared in the “Olamaboro in Focus” and “Okpo Unity Initiative” WhatsApp groups by Hon. Danjuma Onoja and Abubakar Ibrahim Idoko. The claims contained therein have not been independently verified by security agencies. Efforts to obtain comments from the Kogi State Police Command were unsuccessful as of the time this report was filed.