Court Sentences Police Sergeant to Death for Killing UNIJOS Student

A Plateau State High Court in Jos has sentenced Police Sergeant Ruya Auta to death for the killing of 20-year-old University of Jos student, Rinji Bala, during a security incident that occurred in May 2020.

Justice delivered the ruling on Monday, December 8, bringing a decisive end to a five-year legal battle that followed the controversial shooting at the Operation Safe Haven (now Operation Ensuring Peace) Sector 1 base in Jos.

Sergeant Auta, who served with the security task force at the time, was found guilty of fatally shooting Bala at the base’s exit gate on May 13, 2020, after the student and five of his friends were detained during a security sweep in the Hwolshe community.

Speaking after the judgment, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Garba Pwul, who represented the Plateau State Government, said the ruling reflected the persistence and commitment that drove the state’s quest for accountability.

“This judgment is the outcome of five years of efforts and tenacity,” Pwul said. “It is a capital offence, so we had to follow the case carefully. Today, we have seen justice served.”

For eyewitness Emmanuel Gyang, who was with Rinji the night he was shot, the court decision reopened years of pain.

He told journalists that the trauma of that night had lingered long after public attention faded.

“Since that day, there has been no peace,” he said. “The rest of the world moved on, but we stayed with that day.”

Gyang said sitting through the judgment forced him to relive memories he had tried to suppress, noting: “It was while the judgment was being read that some things dawned on me again.”

The tragedy began when Rinji and his friends stepped out for an evening stroll around 6:30 p.m. A mob, alarmed by recent robberies, mistook the group for armed thieves and alerted nearby security forces.

Although soldiers intervened, they later transferred the young men to the Operation Safe Haven base, where survivors said they were severely beaten before being ordered to run toward the gate.

It was at that moment—around 8:35 p.m.—that Sergeant Auta fired the shot that struck Rinji. Medical reports indicated the bullet pierced his lower body, causing fatal internal injuries.

Rinji’s father, Peter Bala, who has attended every court sitting since 2020, said the family was not rejoicing over the death sentence but believed the decision was necessary for public accountability.

“There have to be consequences for every action, and some form of deterrence,” he said.

Rinji, the lastborn and only son in a family of three, was a third-year History and International Relations student who dreamt of becoming a diplomat and launching his own fashion brand.

Operation Safe Haven had originally described the shooting as accidental, claiming the officer mistook the fleeing youths for escaping suspects. But witnesses maintained throughout the trial that Auta acted deliberately and showed no remorse.