A 14-year-old secondary school student was tragically killed by a stray police bullet yesterday morning in Ibadan, Oyo State, while on his way to sit for the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), administered by WAEC.

The victim, whose name has not been officially released, was being driven to his examination centre by his father when the incident occurred near the Airport area of Alakia. Eyewitnesses say the police were pursuing a vehicle that allegedly violated traffic rules when officers opened fire indiscriminately. One of the bullets struck the teenager, who was seated inside another car uninvolved in the chase.

The student was rushed to Welfare Hospital, Alakia, where medical personnel confirmed him dead on arrival. Graphic footage obtained from the scene shows bloodstains inside the car, indicating where the bullet had pierced the vehicle.

“We were in the airport area when we saw the police chasing a car,” said an eyewitness, Ayodele. “One officer raised his gun and shot. The boy was just in his father’s car. The bullet hit him from behind.”

According to a grieving family member, the victim was one of a set of twins. “His father was driving him from Adegbayi for his WAEC exam,” she said. “Now one twin is gone. The officer who fired the shot was from Alabata Police Station. He fled the scene and reportedly sought refuge at the Air Force base after being denied entry to the Air Force Police Station.”

The police allegedly prioritized rescuing their patrol van over providing medical assistance to the dying student, according to the family. Witnesses also report that the officer who fired the shot abandoned his team and went into hiding.

Further chaos erupted at the hospital when Dr. Adeyoju Ayinla, a medical practitioner who tried to save the student, was attacked by an angry crowd. A video circulating online shows visible swelling on the side of his head. “A group of people hit me with sticks while I was trying to help,” the doctor said. “There were nine of them. I managed to hold one just to calm the situation.”

Efforts to reach the Oyo State Police Command spokesperson, Adewale Osifeso, were unsuccessful as calls and messages went unanswered at the time of this report. Angry protesters, however, took the body of the victim to the State Secretariat to inform Governor Seyi Makinde and ask for his intervention.

The Oyo State Government, through Governor Makinde’s media aide, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, pledged to work with the police to investigate the tragic incident and ensure justice is served.

Olanrewaju said the incident was avoidable, noting it began as a traffic violation — the boy’s father was driving against traffic — and sadly ended in the loss of an innocent life.

He urged residents to remain calm and obey traffic laws. The government also clarified that the incident occurred during a routine traffic operation, not a police chase of an internet fraud suspect.

The incident has sparked outrage both online and in the Ibadan community, with civil society organizations and education stakeholders calling for an immediate investigation and prosecution of the officer responsible.

As Nigerians continue to demand police reform in the wake of recurring abuses, this tragic loss once again underscores the lethal consequences of unchecked law enforcement misconduct.