Abdulkarim Labaran Mohammed, 18-year-old secondary school leaver, has been reportedly shot dead by a policeman in Beji community of Niger State.

However, the police said it was not yet clear whether one of its men or a member of the vigilante group committed the act.

The incident was said to have occurred when men of the Maikunkele Division and members of the vigilante group in the area were trying to save a suspected ritualist from mob action.

The suspected ritualist was said to have touched another man who claimed that his manhood had disappeared because of the act and raised an alarm.

The incident was said to have attracted many traders who had converged in Beji market for the day’s business.

The youths among them were said to have descended on the suspect and that concerned persons had alerted the police in Maikunkele Division, which dispatched its men to the scene.

It was further learnt that on arrival at the market, the team of policemen assisted by some vigilance members rescued the suspect, put him in their patrol van but that the mob insisted on meting out justice on him.

Sources said in the ensuing melee, one of the policemen tried to shoot into the air to stop the mob but a stray bullet hit the deceased who died instantly, triggering protest by the youths who blocked the main access road which linked Minna with Zungeru.

One of the sources said reinforcement by the command saved the situation from escalating.

 However, the State Police Command spokesman, DSP Muhammed Abubakar, said it was not certain whether one of their men was responsible for the death of Mohammed.

He said the remains of the deceased have been deposited at the mortuary of Federal Medical Centre Bida, while the man who claimed to have lost his manhood was also on admission for observation and treatment at the hospital.