Facts are emerging that the late Army Warrant Officer (WO) Vitalis Eke killed himself at the gate of 114 Battalion Forward Operations Base (FOB) at Ngwa High School, Aba, Abia State because he was alleged to be privy to the killing of five soldiers in Aba on the day of Biafra Day on May 30, 2024.
Sources said that even though the Senior Non-commissioned Officer (SNO) “did not leave any suicide note,” he was already facing allegations of “giving out information on the soldiers deployment to members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)/Eastern Security Network (ESN) which enabled them to attack and kill the soldiers in the most gruesome manner.”
In the afternoon of June 15, 2024, WO Eke at the FOB at Ngwa High School, Aba, Abia State committed suicide by firing himself. He was a native of Okpala in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area (LGA) of Imo State.
He was to have retired in October 2024 on account of years of service, having put in over 34 years in the Nigerian Army.
The source blamed Poor Situation Management which allowed the SNCO to take his life.
According to the source: “The SNCO was about to be taken to Enugu for questioning as ordered by the General Officer Commanding 82 Division and the Military Police (MP) mismanaged the information. Instead of the MP who were to lead him to Enugu to have kept the movement confidential, they revealed the intending movement to the SNCO.
“The WO, knowing fully well that investigation will found him wanting on the allegations, when asked to dress up for the movement to Enugu, tactically went close to where the rifle belonging to the driver of the Hilux truck was kept, picked it up the weapon and fired himself.
“If you ask me, I think that the action by the SNCO to kill himself shows he knew why he was to be taken to Enugu which investigation would have established more facts relating to the allegations against him. His action is to cover those revelations not to be made in the cause of investigation.
“It’s so sad when soldiers take side just because of ethnicity or religion and allow their colleagues to be killed. It is also possible that other soldiers in the same act would have been fished out in the cause of investigating the late SNCO. The wicked will always be exposed. See how he ended up after 34 yrs and some few months in service. He was due for retirement in October 2024. Now, all the years in service is gone.”