Tragedy struck in Kaduna on the morning of Tuesday, June 4, 2025, when Lieutenant Commander M. Buba, a senior course student of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, was brutally murdered in a robbery attack near the Kawo flyover.
The incident occurred at approximately 4:30 a.m. when Lt Cdr Buba experienced a flat tire and pulled over to fix it, just before the Kawo Bridge. According to eyewitness accounts, while he was attending to his vehicle, an unidentified assailant approached and demanded his mobile phone.
Sources say the naval officer resisted the demand, questioning the assailant’s motive. In response, the attacker reportedly pulled out a locally fabricated knife and stabbed him in the chest.
Suleiman Dahiru, a member of a local vigilante group who witnessed the altercation, attempted to intervene but was also stabbed in the hand by the attacker.
The commotion quickly drew the attention of bystanders, who intervened and managed to overpower the suspect. In the process, the attacker was lynched by the irate crowd and died on the spot.
Lt Cdr Buba was rushed to Manaal Hospital, where he was sadly confirmed dead on arrival. His remains have been transferred to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Kaduna (NARHK) mortuary for autopsy and further military protocols.
Military and civil authorities have expressed deep concern over the rising insecurity in urban Kaduna and pledged to reinforce surveillance and community policing strategies to prevent a recurrence of such a tragic incident.
Meanwhile, Lt Cdr Buba’s death has sent shockwaves through the Armed Forces community, especially at the AFCSC Jaji, where he was undergoing a senior staff course seen as a key milestone in the career progression of military officials