Nigerian Army
Nigeria military said on Thursday that it will probe a shooting incident reported to have taken place at its Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, Borno State.
Reports had indicated that in what could be regarded as near mutiny, soldiers of the 7th Division of the Nigeria Army had early on Wednesday embarked on a shooting spree to protest what they described as continuous killing of men of the Division by the Boko Haram insurgents due to what they described as betrayal and deceit.
The 7th Division of the Nigeria Army was created last year to replace the Joint Task Force which was formerly leading the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents.
Reports indicated that the protest followed the killing of four soldiers from the Division in an ambush by the insurgents.
The soldiers reportedly became angry when they saw the corpses of their fallen colleagues and refused attempt by the General Officer Commanding the Division, Maj-Gen Abubakar Mohammed, attempted to pacify them.
The angry soldiers, according to reports, consequently began shooting into the air, an action which led those who are not involved to scamper for safety.
The enraged soldiers were also reported to have made attempts to attack the vehicle which was used to take away the GOC from the scene.
While acknowledging that there was indeed such incident in a statement on Thursday night, Major General Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information said the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army is to institute a military board of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the conduct of the soldiers.
The Director of Defence Information confirmed that some soldiers fired some shots while the GOC was addressing troops in the Maimalari cantonment.
Olukolade added that “The incident occurred when the corpses of 4 soldiers who died in an ambush while returning from patrol duties in Chibok was being conveyed to the morgue.
The statement however said calm has returned to the cantonment
”There is calm in the cantonment and all normal operations activities are ongoing,”Olukolade said.