EDITORIAL: The Killer of Timothy Daniel Must Be Brought to Book
As with many families during the Christmas season, Timothy Daniel, 13, and his parents travelled to his hometown in Ette, Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State to celebrate and welcome the new year.
On the night of December 31, 2025, the family gathered at a church in Ette to thank God for the fading year and commit 2026 into His hands. In the early hours of the new year, Timothy and his sibling reportedly stepped out to urinate in the open space separating the church from the neighbouring staff quarters of an oil and gas firm.
That choice cost the JSS-2 student of Bensona International School, Borokiri, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, his life.
An innocuous comment by Daniel’s 15-year-old sister, Miracle, reportedly infuriated one of the soldiers guarding the staff quarters. In an unprovoked attack that has triggered public outrage, the soldier shot Daniel dead. Even though the family has reported the case to the police and the Nigerian Army Cantonment 6 Battalion (Wellington Bassey Barracks), nobody has yet been held accountable.
Authorities in the military must investigate the death of this innocent boy, fish out the soldier responsible, and bring him to justice. That is the least we expect on this matter.
A Pattern of Impunity
While we commiserate with the family of Daniel over their loss, his death follows a disturbing pattern of similar occurrences where security forces end up killing the civilians they swore to protect. Indeed, extrajudicial killings by security personnel are commonplace and have been well documented across several decades. They shoot and kill protesters, groups, or innocent individuals, and in rare cases, even turn guns on themselves.
- Rivers State (2020): A trigger-happy police sergeant attached to the Elelenwo Police Division shot a 38-year-old man, Abiodun Jimoh, in the Elelenwo community, Obio/Akpor LGA on December 19, 2020. The incident occurred when a police unit arrested the deceased and his younger brother, Ismail Jimoh, as they returned from a party. “The officer that shot my brother was drunk because I could smell alcohol on him,” said Ismail. “He refused to let us go… Other four officers were telling him to let us go, but he refused to listen.”
- Enugu State (2021): The Enugu State Police Command confirmed that a police inspector killed five people and critically injured four others in an arbitrary shooting at a lottery company office. Despite orders for an investigation, little has been heard years later.
- Osun State: A 31-year-old motorcyclist, Saheed Olabomi, was shot by a police sergeant escorting a high-ranking police chief in Osogbo.
- Lagos State: A police officer attached to the Panti Division shot and killed an 18-year-old lady during a raid in Surulere.
- Benue State (2025): Last April, Ernest Ochowechi Owoicho, a father of two, was reportedly tortured to death by military officers under ‘Operation Whirl Stroke’.
The Call to Action
As it is, after years of promises by successive administrations to reform the security sector, nothing essentially has changed. Personnel of the army, police, civil defence, state security service, and other agencies are still shooting at defenseless Nigerians at will. This impunity continues despite Section 33 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life.
We urge authorities in the country to put an end to these criminal practices by those who ordinarily should uphold the law. Most importantly, for the sake of a grieving family and a community in shock, it is imperative to ensure that the soldier who killed Timothy Daniel is identified and brought to justice.