A tragic incident unfolded on Tuesday morning in the Aleita area along Airport Road, Abuja, as a five-year-old boy, Gaza Damilo, was fatally struck by a speeding car while on his way to school.
The accident occurred around in the morning. when a Mazda vehicle reportedly driving at high speed from the Pyakasa bypass, hit the young pupil.
Eyewitnesses said the driver, along with local residents, rushed the injured boy to a nearby clinic, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Emotions ran high following the child’s death. An angry mob doused the vehicle in petrol and set it ablaze. Some youths also attempted to storm the clinic, demanding that the driver be handed over to them.
The boy’s uncle, Gabriel Jacob, confirmed that Gaza was a Primary 2 pupil in a local private school and was preparing to mark his fifth birthday that same day.
Jacob alleged that the same driver had driven recklessly along the same route the previous day and nearly hit a pedestrian. “When I confronted him, he told me to go buy my own car if I was jealous,” Jacob said, visibly shaken.
As tensions escalated and the mob grew more aggressive, security operatives intervened at the clinic to prevent further violence and restore calm to the area.
Authorities are expected to investigate the incident further, while residents continue to call for justice over the heartbreaking loss.
