Angry soldiers open fire on commander in Maiduguri

Angry soldiers opened fire on the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, yesterday, as he came to address the army at the Maimalari Barracks, Maiduguri, Borno State.

This happened barely hours after the angry villagers on a fightback, succeeded in repelling attack, killing about 200 members of the Boko Haram sects.

Information gathered that the angry soldiers resorted to attacking their Commander because he forced them to return to Maiduguri from Chibok despite the suggestion that it was unsafe, adding that it was dark and dangerous to return to Maiduguri that night.

Effort to make the GOC understand that it was dangerous and suggested that they spend a night in one of the villages hit rock as the commander ordered them to report to Maiduguri that night.

A source who spoke in form of anonymity revealed that the army went on an operation in Kala Balge council area of the state and was later instructed to withdraw from the assignment and return to the state capital immediately. The source added that they were ambushed on their way back, leading to the death of some soldiers.

The source said: “The troops arrived with the corpses of the slain soldiers to Maimalari barracks while the GOC was addressing some troops on the ongoing operation against the insurgency. But when the soldiers sighted the corpses of their deceased colleagues, and learnt about how they died, they condemned the way their superior officers allegedly treated them in the course of the operation, and therefore started shooting sporadically, while others opened fire on the GOC’s vehicle as he narrowly escaped from the scene”.

According to the source, “what angered the soldiers most, was the unnecessary deduction of their allowances and subjecting them to harsh working conditions without proper equipment to carry out their duties and as a result, many of them were being killed like rats by the insurgents”.

The Defence spokesperson, Major General Chris Olukolade, though confirmed the incident, but said it was an internal issue and has been since been resolved.

A statement issued later by the Defence Headquarter shows that an enquiry has been set up from the Joint Information Centre of the Counter Terrorism Campaign, signed by the Defence Spokesman to investigate the incident.

The statement reads

DHQS to probe incident “The 7 Division of the Nigerian Army is to institute a military board of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the conduct of soldiers who fired some shots today (yesterday) while the General Officer Commanding was addressing troops in Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri.

“The incident occurred when the corpses of four soldiers who died in an ambush while returning from patrol duties in Chibok were being conveyed to the morgue. There is calm in the cantonment and all normal operations activities are ongoing“.

 

Angry soldiers open fire on commander in Maiduguri