Court Sentences Police Officer to Death for Killing UNIJOS Student

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

A Plateau State High Court in Jos has sentenced a police officer, Ruya Auta, to death by hanging or by lethal injection for killing a student of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Rinji Bala, on May 13, 2020.

The sentence was delivered on December 8 by Hon. Justice David Mann, who found the officer guilty of violating Bala’s fundamental right to life.

Speaking after the ruling, counsel to Plateau State Government, Garba Pwul (SAN), said: “It has been five years of efforts and tenacity to bring justice to the deceased, the family, and even the government. Today, we have seen justice served.”

Pwul expressed hope that the ruling would serve as a deterrent to negligent security forces that misuse their rifles.

He said: “We hope that this judgment will serve as a deterrent to trigger-happy and dangerously negligent uniformed men, and provide some measure of comfort to the deceased’s family.”

The court had earlier awarded a substantial nine-figure sum in damages to Bala’s family, declaring that his fundamental right to life had been violated by the actions of the security officer involved.

A friend of the deceased, who witnessed the killing, Emmanuel Gyang, said the ruling offered less of a sense of victory, but rather a reopening of old wounds, noting that since the day his friend was killed by the officer, he had felt terribly bad, and that the ruling had re-echoed the painful memories.

Recall that Bala was shot dead by the trigger-happy police officer attached to the Special Task Force (STF) on peace-keeping in Plateau State on May 13, 2020.