The Nigerian Army on Monday confirmed the case of a soldier who on Sunday at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Rabah in Sokoto State State gunned down his Commander, the Command Sergeant Major (CSM) and a Private before killing himself.
Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said in Abuja on Monday that though investigations has begun into the incident, the circumstances leading to it could not be immediately ascertained since the soldier who killed his colleagues also shot himself dead.
Global Upfront Newspapers (GUN) had exclusively reported how the soldier, Lance Corporal Nwobodo Chinonso of 223 Battalion Zuru, Kebbi State, was deployed at FOB Rabah where on Sunday evening he opened fire on his superiors.
The source had told GUN that the three personnel killed include the Commander of FOB Rabah, Lieutenant TI Sam-Oladipo; the CSM, Staff Sergeant Iliyasu Inusa and Private Attahiru Mohammed.
The source confirmed that the soldier carried out the killings “inside the Command accommodation before killing himself” and that the corpses of the FOB Commander, the CSM and the Private have been moved to the Usman DanFodio University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto.”
Reacting to the reports, General Nwachukwu stated that the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division and Commander, Joint Task Force, Northwest Operation, Hadarin Daji, Major General Godwin Mutkut, and other senior officers have already visited the FOB Rabah location of the incident.
Nwachukwu, while saying that the GOC commiserated with troops for losing their colleagues in such an unfortunate situation, “urged them to be their brother’s 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 occurrences in the future.’’