A senior officer of the Nigerian Navy, Lt. Cdr. M. Buba, has been stabbed to death by a suspected robber in the Kawo area of Kaduna.

Zagazola Makama was informed by intelligence sources that the incident occurred at about 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 7, near the Kawo flyover bridge while the officer, a student of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, was attempting to fix a flat tyre on his vehicle.

Eyewitnesses said the assailant emerged from a nearby spot and demanded the officer’s mobile phone. When the officer resisted, the assailant reportedly stabbed him in the chest with a sharp object suspected to be a local knife.

A local vigilante, Suleiman Dahiru, who attempted to assist the officer, was also stabbed in the hand during the altercation.

The attacker was subsequently overpowered and lynched by an angry mob at the scene.

The naval officer was rushed to Manaal Hospital, where he was confirmed dead on arrival. His remains have since been deposited at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, for further action.

Security sources told Zagazola that covert operations have been launched by troops, police, and other civil security agencies to identify and remove criminal elements loitering around strategic locations, including bus stops and other black spots in Kaduna metropolis.

Further updates on the operation are expected in due course. (Zagazola: Text, Excluding Headline)