Trouble started when the crowd threw orderliness into the wind and started scrambling for the palliatives and in order to restore sanity, one of the Policemen at the distribution centre shot into the air to disperse the crowd during which stray bullets hit the boy and his grandmother.
The victims were said to be from an Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, centre from Inana village in Rijau council.
This incident, Igbere TV gathered, happened at Sale Mai Agogo palliative distribution centre in Rijau Local Government Area of Niger State was on Sunday as the two were hit by stray bullets shot by a Policeman deployed to the centre to keep orderliness during the distribution exercise.
Chairman, palliatives distribution committee in charge of Rijau council, who is also the state Commissioner of Primary and Tertiary Health, Dr. Tukur Bello confirmed the incident.
According to him,”The skirmish was as a result of some miscreants, who came to the palliative collection units and carted away some of the items from the unit, which resulted in the Police shooting.
“In an effort by the police to control the mammoth crowd, they shot in the air and unfortunately, the stray bullet hit the little boy and the grand mother who are Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs.”
Meanwhile, Governor Mohammed Bago has directed that everything possible should be done to save their lives and ensure that the victims were given full medical attention.
Meanwhile, the Police officer, who shot the bullet has been arrested by the divisional police officer in charge of Rijau and taken into custody for investigation.
The boy is said to be recuperating in the hospital.
