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| Angry Nigerian soldiers |
The General
Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Ahmadu Mohammed, a Major General,
narrowly escaped death on Wednesday when aggrieved soldiers opened fire on his
official vehicle, as he arrived to address them at the Maimalari Military
Barracks in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.
Sources
close to the military barracks disclosed to SHOWBIZPLUSng that some troops who
went to Chibok Local Government area for an operation where over 234
schoolgirls were recently abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists carried
out the mutiny against their boss after returning to Maiduguri.
There are also
fears that the attack might be the handiwork of Boko Haram insurgents, whom
many alleged had infiltrated the barracks.
One of
the sources spoke of how they were on their way back to Maiduguri when they
realised that the Maiduguri-Damboa road was not safe, as darkness had set in,
and then requested the GOC to allow them spend the night in one of the villages
considered to be safe for them.
The GOC was
said to have insisted that the soldiers must come back to Maiduguri the same
night.
However,
on their way back to Maiduguri, according to investigation, the soldiers were
ambushed by suspected terrorists, and many of them (soldiers) were killed.
Military
sources further said when the GOC tried to address troops on the ongoing
operation against the insurgents, the soldiers on sighting the arrival of
corpses of their deceased colleagues got angry and started shooting
sporadically.
Some of
them were said to have indeed intentionally opened fire on the GOC’s vehicle
but that he narrowly escaped.
“What
angered the soldiers most is the unnecessary deduction of their allowances and
subjecting them to harsh working conditions without proper equipment to carry
out their rules of engagement.
“As a
result of this, many of them were being killed like rats by the insurgents,” a
source noted.
A
statement later last night from the Defence Headquarters said the 7 Division of
the Nigerian Army is to institute a military board of inquiry into the
circumstances surrounding the conduct of the soldiers who fired some shots
while the GOC was addressing the troops.
The
statement issued by the Director, Defence Information/Coordinator, Chris
Olukolade, a Major General, said the incident occurred when the corpses of four
soldiers who died in an ambush while returning from patrol duties in Chibok was
being conveyed to the morgue.
He said
there is now calm in the cantonment and that all normal operations activities
are ongoing .
Another
report said residents of Kalabalge village also in Borno State took their
destiny in their hands on Tuesday when they fought off gun-wielding Boko Haram
insurgents who invaded the village in an early morning attack.
The
villagers succeeded in killing several of the invaders and arrested about 10 of
them alive.
The
insurgents had repeatedly attempted to attack Kalabalge, an agro-nomad
community near the Cameroon borders, but failed to gain entry into the village
on each attempt.
Eyewitnesses
said the villagers had made security preparations around the village and this
has made it impossible for the Boko Haram terrorist to launch successful
attacks.
The
village is the headquarters of Kalabalge Local Government area of Borno State.
“We have
told them (Boko Haram) that they cannot take their attacks to our village
because, we have taken measures both security wise and spiritually to prevent
them,” said a vigilance member in the community who did not give his name when
he spoke to a news agency on phone.
“They
wanted to attack us just the way they did in Bama, Konduga and Damboa, but we
got the wind of it and all of us laid ambush for them; when they neared the
village, we opened fire using our dane guns, double barrel rifles and bows and
arrows.
“Most of
them who were shocked took to their heels, but many of them died, some that
were injured have been caught alive and are with the security people as I am
talking to you”, said the vigilance member.
An
official of the State Security Service (SSS) who pleads anonymity confirmed the
incident to reporters on phone.
“The
insurgents tried to attack the village as at 5.00 a.m. (on Tuesday) but the
vigilante and some members of the village who got the hint of the attack laid
ambush and were able to kill as many of them as possible, while about ten of
them were caught alive; they also recovered two trucks from the insurgents,”
the security source said.
The Boko
Haram has raided several villages in Borno State, killing thousands of people
and destroying countless property.
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