A newly wedded official of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Aliyu Imran, has been tragically killed by a mob in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
OsunDailyNG learnt that Imran, who held the position of Assistant Superintendent of Narcotic 1, was set ablaze by a furious mob in the Gadan-Gayan region of Igabi LGA.
This incident reportedly occurred after a vehicle which Imran and his colleagues were pursuing was involved in a collision that resulted in fatalities.
According to SaharaReporters, the officer and his team were chasing a suspected drug dealer when the suspect attempted to evade capture by reversing his vehicle, leading to the deaths of at least three individuals on the scene.
In an effort to de-escalate the situation, Imran reportedly intervened but was subsequently attacked by the mob.
He sustained stab wounds while the Officer in Charge (OC) called for assistance.
The media platform quoted sources to have disclosed that a courageous police officer transported him to a nearby hospital; however, the mob later invaded the medical facility, forcibly removed him, and set him on fire.
Imran’s bereaved family has expressed their disappointment, accusing the NDLEA of neglecting to issue a statement or extend condolences or compensation to them.
“It happened that on Friday some NDLEA officers went for an operation at Gadan-Gayan. They are covering it up. This is our agency. Do you know what they normally do? If accidents like this happen and an officer is in involved or an officer loses his life, instead of them compensating the family, the NDLEA will try to cover it up so that they will not give the deceased family the compensation.
“Some officers were on patrol and the suspect reversed and started driving away from the officers on patrol.
“So the officers took their own car and followed the car that was trying to get away from them. So in that process, the car they were chasing had an accident, and killed four people died.
“So when our officers reached there, one of them Aliyu Imran, came down to try and calm the situation. Then people started to attack him. Even me, I’ve been involved in that kind of situation before.
“Normally, the moment you see the place is starting to get tense, you leave immediately.
“So when he came down to try to calm the situation down, the OC (Officer-in-Charge), the person that led the operation, started saying, okay. You guys should inbox. Like, let’s go. When you say inbox, it means you should enter car – let’s leave.
“So, in the process, they left Aliyu Imran in that place. So those guys, they stabbed him. After stabbing him, one police officer there took him on his bike to one hospital close to that place for treatment,” the source said.
He said the mob followed the policemen to the hospital, dragged out the NDLEA officer and burnt him alive.
The source further shared the sad development: “Do you know what’s heartbreaking? He just got married last December. His wife fainted as they were burying him yesterday (Saturday).
“Aliyu had stepped out of the vehicle to calm the situation, but the crowd turned hostile. I understand how these things escalate—I’ve been in similar mob situations during operations. Once tensions rise, the best thing to do is leave immediately.
“In the chaos, they left Aliyu Imran behind. The mob attacked him, stabbing him repeatedly.
“A police officer tried to save him by taking him to a nearby hospital on his bike. But the same mob stormed the hospital, dragged Aliyu out, and burned him alive while he was still clinging to life.
“The agency has done nothing for his family. They haven’t even addressed the incident officially. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and NDLEA has covered it up before.”
The source asserted that this is not the first instance of an officer losing their life while on duty.
He noted that in many cases, these occurrences are not widely reported, and the families are left with only minimal compensation.
In response to the unfortunate event, the spokesperson for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, refuted claims suggesting that the agency neglects its fallen officers.
He affirmed that the chairman of the agency is directly communicating with the family of the deceased officer.
“As I speak with you, a delegation from the headquarters—led by the agency’s director of operations and general investigations—is already in Kaduna to meet with the family. Additionally, another commander had earlier been dispatched by the chairman. So, there’s no truth to the claim that the family has been abandoned.
“To further demonstrate how seriously the agency is taking this matter, the management has suspended the commander involved. Do you understand?”
“This is an ongoing investigation. The matter is being thoroughly looked into, and the agency remains in close contact with the family. We are working diligently to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he was quoted to have said.
