The Nigerian Army has instituted a Board of Inquiry into the circumstances in which an unnamed Army Corporal who is serving in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria killed four of his colleagues before killing himself.
Army Spokesperson, Colonel Sagir Musa, said in a statement Wednesday night that the killing took place in the early hours of the day when the Corporal, who was serving at the Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Army Super Camp 15, located at Malam Fatori “went berserk.”
The killing bring to the fore, the psychological state and treatment giving to military personnel serving on the frontlines of the war against terror in Northeast region. Many of them have spent years on duty without any rotation or re-deployment.
In 2018, a soldier committed suicide in the same Borno State after killing a colleague. In the same year, another soldier opened fire at a military facility in Abuja, killing one colleague and injuring another before fatally shooting and shattering his own mouth with a rifle.
In November 2017, a soldier on deployment in Northeast region opened fire on an Army Captain, killing him, before turning the gun on himself. In June of the same year, an Army Captain in the same region committed suicide as he was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.
The Army Spokesperson also said in the statement on the killings that the late soldier who injured two other soldiers.
Colonel Musa stated that the soldier “opened fire killing four of his colleagues before shooting himself. Two of his colleagues were also injured during the incident and are currently in stable condition in our hospital in Maiduguri.
“Efforts are ongoing to contact the families of our gallant colleagues who paid the supreme price in the line of duty. May their gentle souls rest in peace. Meanwhile, the investigation into the case has since been instituted to determine the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident.”