Army confirms killing of soldiers by colleague, self in Sokoto

The Nigerian Army confirmed on Monday the death of a soldier who shot his colleagues and himself on Sunday at Forward Operations Base, Rabah, Sokoto State.

Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations, stated in Abuja that investigations into the incident had begun.

Mwachukwu stated that the circumstances surrounding the incident could not be determined immediately because the soldier who killed his colleagues also shot himself dead.

He added that the location had been visited by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division and Commander, Joint Task Force, Northwest Operation Hadarin Daji Maj.-Gen. Godwin Mutkut and other senior officers.

According to him, the GOC expressed condolences to troops for the loss of their colleagues in such a tragic situation.

“He urged them to be their brothers’ keepers and to report any anomaly observed amongst colleagues to forestall a recurrence.

“He also encouraged them to remain calm and committed in the discharge of their duties.

“The authorities of the Nigerian Army are deeply concerned about this unusual and ugly development and have instituted a Board of Inquiry (BOI) to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“It is envisaged that the findings of the BOI will help forestall such ugly and bizarre occurrence in the future,’’ Nwachukwu stated. (NAN)