There are doubts over the reported suicide committed by an instructor with the Nigerian Army (NA) battalion in Geidam, Yobe State, Lance Corporal Jibrin, who was arrested for conniving with Boko Haram/Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists who attacked Yobe communities recently.
Jibrin, who disappeared from his duty post a few days ago, was said to have been sighted among the Boko Haram terrorists that attacked Geidam town last week.
Military sources said the soldier was tracked by the Army’s Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) unit and was found in Gashua, about 100 kilometres away from his duty post, on Tuesday.
A reliable source confirmed that the suspect had mentioned some names of his colleagues as collaborators, and they were already facing interrogation.
News, however, filtered in that the soldier on transit back to Geidam snatched a gun from one of his escorts, overpowered the other, and shot himself.
“He was handcuffed, and on interrogation, he revealed a lot which led to the arrest of some of his collaborators.
“On transit back to Geidam, Jibrin snatched a gun from one of his escorts, overpowered the other, and shot himself,” the report said.
The Spokesperson of Sector II of Operation Hadinkai Damaturu, Lt Kennedy Anyewau, confirmed the incident, saying: “Yes, we received a report about a soldier who committed suicide yesterday evening, and full investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to the incident. That is all I can disclose about the matter for now.”
The report of the suicide has however set tongues wagging with many querying the circumstance that could have led to a suspect in handcuff disarming two soldiers and killing himself.
In a telephone chat with one of our correspondents, a retired commander in the Nigerian Navy, Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, said there was more to the suicide case.
He opined that the deceased might have been silenced so as not to reveal the names of his accomplices.
Durowaiye-Herberts said, “As far as some of us are concerned, we know how these things play out. The guy must be an insider, and for him to remain alive of course a lot of heads would roll because he had to mention names, the best way to avoid that is to silence him.
“So, there is more than meets the eyes about what we are being made to know.”
An officer who pleaded anonymity had given more details about the suicide incident to Daily Trust.
He said, “It is true that Jibrin was arrested and he later killed himself. He was a very skillful soldier; he was part of us, and upon realising that his moves became suspicious he disappeared.
“No wonder the last Boko Haram operation in Geidam shocked all of us because we had prepared for them but they took us unawares by using a new strategy different from what they are known for. They sneaked into the town without vehicles and no gunshots.
“We suspected that they must have informants from within, and after a beam light was set out the question mark fell on Jibrin.”
First published in Daily Trust