A Nigerian military investigation is underway after a soldier guarding an industrial website in Akwa Ibom State allegedly shot a 13-year-old boy on New 12 months’s Day, renewing scrutiny of companies that depend on troops for defense and of the navy’s document of illegal killings nationwide.
Witnesses in Ikot Abasi mentioned Timothy Daniel, a junior secondary college pupil, was strolling residence after a crossover church service together with his 15 yr outdated sister when a soldier approached the lady close to a compound housing Chinese language employees. The sister protested the alleged harassment and Timothy stepped in after listening to her cries, witnesses mentioned. The soldier fired a rifle, killing the boy on the roadside. The military mentioned navy police had taken over the case and opened an inquiry.
Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong said on social media that the soldier was connected to Sterling World, a cluster of companies managed by Indian brothers Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara. The military has not publicly confirmed the business posting. Messages despatched to contact addresses listed for Sterling’s Nigerian operations weren’t returned.
Sterling’s footprint in Nigeria runs from upstream oil manufacturing to industrial growth. Its exploration arm, Sterling Oil Exploration and Vitality Manufacturing Co., says it operates underneath a manufacturing sharing contract for OML 143 and produces the Okwuibome Mix, a low sulphur crude marketed to consumers in North America, Europe and components of Asia. Commodity dealer Vitol mentioned Okwuibome output was estimated at about 10,000 barrels per day in 2011 and anticipated to rise.
A 2023 Bloomberg report, cited by Nigeria’s BusinessDay, mentioned the brothers flagship Nigerian corporations pump roughly 50,000 barrels of crude a day underneath preparations linked to the state oil agency, now the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm.
In India, the Sandesaras have been accused of defrauding banks via their former pharmaceutical enterprise, Sterling Biotech, and associated companies. Reuters reported that India’s Supreme Courtroom agreed in November 2025 to quash legal proceedings in the event that they pay about $570 million, round a 3rd of what prosecutors say was a $1.6 billion fraud. The brothers have denied wrongdoing.
In Akwa Ibom, Sterling can also be linked to Sterling Petrochemical and Fertilizers Ltd, registered as a sub zone developer within the Liberty Oil and Gasoline Free Commerce Zone at Japanese Obolo. Public information describe multi million greenback investments however don’t spell out day by day manufacturing targets or a date for full scale output.
The dying of Timothy has sharpened consideration on how troopers find yourself guarding non-public gates. Nigeria has more and more deployed the navy for inner safety, from oil services within the south to checkpoints and protest crackdowns in main cities. Rights teams say accountability is uncommon when civilians die.
Amnesty Worldwide mentioned troopers and police killed not less than 12 peaceable protesters at Lekki and Alausa in Lagos on Oct. 20, 2020, through the EndSARS demonstrations. Human Rights Watch mentioned the military’s December 2015 assault on a Shia procession in Zaria, carried out to clear a route for a convoy, killed lots of and appeared unjustified. Human Rights Watch additionally documented a 2013 navy raid in Baga, Borno State, the place residents mentioned 183 our bodies had been counted and greater than 2,000 buildings had been destroyed.
Amnesty has additionally accused the navy of systematic abuses within the northeast, saying in a 2015 report that forces extrajudicially executed greater than 1,200 folks in operations in opposition to Boko Haram.
Native leaders in Ukpum Ete have demanded that the soldier linked to Timothy’s dying be recognized and prosecuted. The case has stirred a wider concern: in Nigeria, a short argument, a grievance, even a toddler’s protest can finish underneath a soldier’s set off.
