Nigerian Soldier Shoots YABATECH Student Dead in Lagos — Family, Friends Mourn
By: Abudu Olalekan
Tuesday started like any other. Turn in work due that day. Then go back to where he lived. Possibly stop for food before getting there. This had been how Balogun Sultan saw his afternoon unfolding. A student in the second year of his National Diploma at Yaba College of Technology, routine shaped most days – until it did not.
Home was not where he ended up.
That morning, Sultan left after turning in his Research Methods work plus taking the exam. He was part of YABATECH’s remote study track. Off he went toward Lagos Island, heading home. Nothing unusual about it. Just another familiar journey, like so many others.
That morning, everything suddenly fell apart.
A bullet fired by a Nigerian soldier ended the life of a young student in Lagos’ Yaba district during what officials called a security mission. Shock crashed down on those who knew him – family first, then friends, then classmates. It landed without warning. Nothing had braced them for that moment.
“We only come to school for examinations,” one student told Reportersroom, his voice barely steady. “Our course is usually online. We come for two weeks of physical lectures before exams, write them, and go. We don’t return after that.”
What hurts most is knowing he wasn’t even supposed to be there long. Not a familiar presence walking around classes. Only came for the test that day. Same routine followed by each person studying at the school.
A friend started talking about what happened that day. Once the test ended, handing in that research project made us hang around campus longer than usual, so leaving took more time, then heading home began. Living on Lagos Island shaped his everyday path. Walking to the WAEC terminal came first, after that a ride, followed by switching rides somewhere along the way, finally reaching his place.
Nowhere near far did he ever get.
Folks talking to Reportersroom said warnings came in about possible cult violence nearby. Because of that, troops showed up fast – trying to hold things together. Around then, Sultan was making his way back when he stepped right into the chaos.
“There was a report that there would be a cult clash in the area and the soldiers came to quell it. Unfortunately, Balogun was going home at same time and he was shot by one of the soldiers,” a source said.
A single shot. Gone too soon, a youth cut down by gunfire that missed its mark.
Noise and shouts at the WAEC bus stop gave way to sudden gunfire. A burst of screams tore through the air. Bodies darted between stalls and vehicles. Footage shared with Reportersroom showed Sultan soaked in red, lying on cracked pavement. Hands reached for him, tearing fabric to press on cuts. Voices rose – not words, just raw sound aimed skyward. Stillness followed each breath he took.
Inside the ambulance, he reached the Military Hospital in Yaba just before noon. A team of doctors opened his chest, fighting seconds more than protocol allowed.
Still, it failed. Life slipped away.
Friends who spoke to Reportersroom painted a picture of someone who had absolutely no business being in the wrong place. “He was just a quiet guy trying to finish school and go home,” one friend said. “Now his parents will never see him walk through their door again.”
Everything’s clear once you hear those words. Really.
Calmness sat easily on Sultan, like it belonged there. Focused he stayed, even when things shifted around him. Respect came through without effort, quiet but clear. Keeping to himself wasn’t a shield – just how he moved. Drama didn’t follow because he never invited it near. The thought of finishing his programme lit something real in him, not showy, just deep down glad. Moving forward meant more than standing still, that much felt obvious. Trouble? Never knocked, and he wasn’t answering anyway. Going home – that was the whole reason, nothing layered beneath.
Today, the lecture rooms hold a weight none of them expected. Talks once filled with homework details and test advice now dissolve into quiet or hushed sorrow. A few admit fear settles deep. Anger sits deeper in others.
Maybe things would be different now, if everyone had walked away from school side by side back then. A handful still wonder about it. What might have shifted, had they all just gone home together?
Few can explain why it happened. Yet what stands clear is how a young man, just beginning his journey, fell victim to a stray shot aimed at someone else.
What really hurts isn’t the wound – it’s remembering how it got there.
