A grieving aunt, Rebecca Gapsiso-Mu’azu, has recounted the tragic circumstances surrounding the killing of 22-year-old Makburi Fredrick-Gapsiso, who was reportedly shot on his way home after attending Palm Sunday worship.
Fredrick-Gapsiso was a final student of Business Administration in Federal University of Kashere, Gombe but was on break in Jos where the unfortunate event occurred.
PERISCOPE NIGERIA reports that the incident adds to growing concerns over insecurity and delayed emergency response in affected communities.
His remains were buried on Thursday.
According to her account, Makburi had gone to visit a friend in Angwan Rukuba, a community neighbouring his residence in Yan-Tailer, shortly after church.
“That afternoon, after the Palm Sunday worship, he went to see his friend at Angwan Rukuba,” she said. “Unfortunately, his battery ran down completely and the friend he went to see could not alert him of the presence of gunmen in the area.”
She believes he was attacked while returning home.
“I guess they met him on the way home and shot him in the stomach,” she added. “He did not die immediately… one account on Facebook showed that he was still conscious when he recognised him among the victims.”
The situation was worsened by the lack of immediate medical response.
“Unfortunately, there was no vehicle to convey him to a hospital in time. He must have died from excessive bleeding, because he was not shot in the heart,” she said.
Narrating how the family discovered his fate, she explained that concern grew when Makburi failed to return home.
“My brother said the friend he went to visit called to find out if he had reached home, but his younger brother said no,” she said.
“Later, a man in their neighbourhood described a youth who was shot, and my brother feared it was him. They rushed to the Jos University Teaching Hospital, where they found his lifeless body.”
She noted that he was initially taken to a nearby private hospital that lacked the capacity to handle his injuries.
“Apparently, they had taken him to a nearby private hospital, which did not have the facilities to treat him,” she said.
Describing the deceased, Mu’azu said Makburi was the second of four boys and a cherished member of the family.
“Makburi was the star of the house. He made friends easily and was always calling to check up on me,” she said. “He would say, ‘Mrs Mu’azu,’ or ‘Ma’, Leben,’ or ‘Momsy.’ He could cook, wash plates and sweep like a girl. He even washed my clothes the last time he was around.”
She also recalled her final interaction with him on the same day he was killed.
“That Sunday afternoon, I tried to reach his father but couldn’t get him. I called the mother, still no progress. That was when I called him and he told me he was not at home, but that he left his father at home with a powered phone. That was the last I heard from him,” she said.
According to her, Makburi later spoke with her daughter via video call.
“My daughter spoke with him around 5 p.m. that day. She even has a record of the call. She couldn’t believe it when I told her he was killed,” she added.
