BREAKING: Nigerian Army confirms soldier killed senior colleague, narrates incident

The Nigerian Army has announced that a soldier killed a colleague officer on Wednesday.

Colonel Sagir Musa, Acting Director Army Public Relations, confirmed the incident on Thursday.

A statement he signed disclosed that the trooper serves in 202 Battalion of 21 Special Armoured Brigade Bama, Borno State.

Musa said he went berserk at about 10:30 am against an officer (a Subaltern) which led to the latter’s death.

The soldier approached the officer who was standing in front of the Unit’s Headquarters making a phone call.

“The soldier has been arrested, is in custody undergoing investigation. General situation in the unit is calm”, it read.

The remains of the deceased officer has been evacuated to 7 Division Medical Services and Hospital.

Musa said investigation into the case has since been instituted to determine the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident.

Meanwhile a military source has disclosed that soldier had requested a pass to visit his family over an urgent matter, and when he was turned down on Wednesday, he fired shots at the lieutenant who is the battalion’s adjutant responsible for administrative matters.

A pass is a written permission to be away from one’s military unit for a limited period of time, and with the army’s Operation Lafiya Dole, it could be for seven, 10 or 14 days.

“The soldier joined the army in the 2016 intake and had since been deployed to fight Boko Haram in the north-east. This time, he had been in duty post for almost 12 months and he wanted that pass by all means,” a military source in Bama said.

“Normally, you apply for a pass by filling the form and then you submit to the adjutant who is the battalion administrative officer. It is the adjutant that will now make recommendations and forward to the commanding officer for approval.

“The soldier was denied the pass by the adjutant, and that was when he got angry and decided to kill him. He opened 36 rounds on the officer, killing him instantly.”

Another source said the soldier was due for a pass having spent more than the required three months which makes him eligible.

“You can apply for a pass after three months, but the problem we have in this operation is that the superiors will be telling you that we don’t have enough manpower. So, a lot of soldiers are always denied pass,” he said.

He added that the pass is only given when the soldier has to attend to critical matters like loss of parents or loved ones.

He added that the family of the deceased have been contacted.