By Deborah Nnamdi
Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has narrated the circumstances surrounding the alleged killing of a 13-year-old boy, Master Timothy Daniel Monday, who was reportedly shot dead by a soldier in the early hours of New Year’s Day in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, as the Nigerian Army confirms that an investigation has commenced.
In an emotional account shared on his X handle on Tuesday, Effiong said he was contacted by the victim’s sister, Miss Miracle Daniel Monday, whose narration of the incident left him deeply disturbed. He said the teenager, a JSS 2 student of Bensona International School, Port Harcourt, was home in Akwa Ibom for the holidays when the incident occurred.
According to Effiong, Timothy was killed on Thursday, January 1, 2026, during a New Year crossover service at Mount Zion Church, Ette. He said Miracle told him that she stepped out of the church premises with her siblings during the service and encountered soldiers deployed to provide security for Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company Limited, also known as Sterling Global.
Effiong said Miracle explained that she had asked the soldiers to wait briefly while she finished urinating, a request that allegedly angered one of them. The soldier was said to have pushed her to the ground, slapped her and also assaulted her sister when she questioned his action. Another soldier reportedly intervened, apologised to the girls and asked them to leave.
“As they were leaving, they heard gunshots,” Effiong said, adding that it later emerged that the same soldier allegedly opened fire, killing Timothy instantly.
The lawyer disclosed that the family reported the incident to the Nigerian Army at the 6 Battalion, Wellington Basi Barracks in Ibagwa, Abak Local Government Area, as well as to the police. He further alleged that Sterling Global had not contacted or visited the family since the incident, describing the company’s silence as “despicable and unacceptable.”
Effiong called on the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Army Staff, the General Officer Commanding of the 6 Battalion and the Akwa Ibom State Government to intervene urgently, insisting that the soldier involved should be court-martialed and the family adequately compensated. He stressed that no Nigerian should be killed by those entrusted with the duty of protecting citizens, citing Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees the right to life.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has confirmed that it has launched an investigation into the incident. The Army Public Relations Officer of 2 Brigade, Mbiokporo, Captain Lawal Mohamed, said the matter had been taken over by the Military Police. “The incident has been handled by the Military Police and is already under investigation. Due process will be followed,” he assured.
Eyewitness accounts indicated that the incident occurred around 12:05 a.m. along Akongntekong Road, Ete, as Timothy was returning from a crossover service with his 15-year-old sister. An eyewitness, Anthony Akpan, alleged that the soldier on guard duty at a nearby residence where expatriates reportedly reside followed Miracle and made inappropriate advances at her.
Akpan said the situation escalated when the girl resisted and protested, prompting threats from the soldier. Timothy was said to have confronted the soldier over the alleged harassment of his sister, leading to a heated exchange that reportedly ended with the soldier firing his rifle and hitting the teenager.
The shooting reportedly sparked panic and unrest in the community, disrupting New Year celebrations. During the ensuing commotion, a vehicle belonging to a former political adviser to the Ikot Abasi Local Government chairman, Obong Uyai Udoiwod, was also said to have been damaged.
As investigations continue, residents and rights groups have called for transparency, accountability and justice over the killing of the teenager.
