A Senior Naval Officer, identify as Lieutenant Commodore M. Bala, has been stabbed to death in Kaduna.

The incident occurred when a hoodlum attempted to rob him of his mobile phone and other valuable near the Kano Bridge.

According to eyewitnesses, the officer, who was attending a course at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, had a flat tyre while returning to base.

“He stepped out of his vehicle to change the tyre when the attacker suddenly appeared and demanded his phone. The Officer refused and questioned the demand, prompting the assailant to stab him in the chest with a local knife”, one eyewitness said.

Suleiman Dahiru, a local vigilante who witnessed the incident tried to assist the officer but was also stabbed in the hand by the attackers. I

t was gathered that the assailant was eventually overpowered and lynched on the spot by bystanders.

A senior military officer, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “The injured officer was rushed to Manaal Hospital, but confirmed dead on arrival.

“His remains were later taken to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital mortuary in Kaduna for further procedures”.

Plainclothes troops, police, and other security personnel have been deployed for covert operations to identify and remove criminal elements loitering around bus stops and spots within Kaduna metropolis”.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Mansur Hassan, described it as “unfortunate”.

He assured that police operators are working diligently to secure the area and the state in general.

-9News Nigeria.