A wave of grief and outrage has followed the killing of a 14-year-old girl in Maiduguri, after she was struck by a stray bullet allegedly fired by military personnel during a wedding celebration.
According to Amnesty International, the incident occurred on April 4 while the teenager was inside her home at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital quarters. She had reportedly been preparing to attend a family wedding when the bullet hit her.
Eyewitness accounts suggest the shot came from celebratory gunfire at a nearby event centre—an act widely condemned as reckless and avoidable.
The rights group described the death as “entirely preventable,” calling on Nigerian authorities to launch a transparent, impartial, and thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting. It stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable and to enforce stricter controls on the use of firearms, especially in civilian areas.
The victim was laid to rest the following day, leaving her family and community devastated and searching for answers.
As of now, neither the military nor the police in Nigeria have issued an official statement on the incident.
Tragedy in Maiduguri: Outrage Over Stray Bullet Killing of Teenager
