27022020 - Insurgency: Depressed soldier shoots 7, kills self

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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SERVICE COMMISSION —Members of the
National Assembly Service Commission during their swearing-in at the State
House, Abuja, yesterday. State House photo.
Insurgency: Depressed
soldier shoots 7, kills self
Omonobi, Ndahi
Marama & David
Odama
ABUJA —
Soldiers at the
Nigerian Army
Brigade, Malam Fatori,
Borno State, currently
fighting the Boko Haram
insurgency were thrown
into mourning, yesterday,
as a depressed soldier,
who allegedly got
information that someone
was sleeping with his
wife, turned his gun at
seven of his colleagues
and later shot himself.
Four of those shot,
including the corporal
have been reported dead,
while the rest are in
critical condition.
The sad development
happened as suspected
members of the Islamic
State of West Africa
Province, ISWAP,
abducted Mohammed
Abba, head of the Civilian
Joint Task Force, JTF, in
Bambula community in
Chibok Local Council of
Borno State.
It was learnt that the
insurgents attacked the
community around 4a.m.
Yesterday, when most of
the residents were still
asleep.
This is even as
President Muhammadu
Buhari yesterday charged
the military to re-examine
strategies to defeat the
ISWAP terrorists in the
North-East because their
presence in the West
African Sahel region
poses great danger not
only to Nigeria but also
the entire region.
Meanwhile, to tackle
kidnapping and banditry,
the Nasarawa State
House of Assembly has
passed a law to ensure
judicial protection for
witnesses.
How soldier
shot self,
colleagues
Narrating how the
soldier shot seven of his
colleagues and himself, a
source said: “I couldn’t
help but voice this out. At
about 0600hrs this
morning (yesterday) at
118/119 BN MALAM
FATORI,BORNO STATE,
a Corporal fired seven
soldiers and fired himself.
“Two have been
reported dead, while the
rest are in critical
condition. The soldier has
been going through
depression as a result of
family issues; information
got to him that someone
has been sleeping with
his wife while he is on
operation.
“Soldiers in this
particular location spend
almost one year before
being given pass to visit
their families. How do
you leave a soldier in the
war front for 9-12 months
without him seeing his
family?
“Some soldiers’ children
don’t even know their
fathers. Many homes
have been shattered,
broken. Even with the
directive from the Theatre
Command that soldiers
should be allowed to go
on pass every three
months, the Battalion
Commander has refused
to comply with such
directives. The camp now
is in great commotion.
When will soldiers’ lives
and welfare of families be
valued?”
Army confirms
incident
Confirming the incident
last night, Acting Director
of Army Public Relations,
Col. Sagir Musa, said the
Corporal serving in
Operation Lafiya Dole,
Army Super Camp 15,
located at Malam Fatori,
killed himself, two others
and injured three in the
process.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 — 5
POCKET CARTOON
He said: “Two of his
colleagues were also
injured during the
incident and are currently
in stable condition in our
hospital in Maiduguri.
“Efforts are ongoing to
contact the families of our
gallant colleagues who
paid the supreme price in
the line of duty. May their
gentle souls rest in peace.
“Meanwhile,
investigation into the case
has since been instituted
to determine the
circumstances that led to
the unfortunate incident.”
Sources attributed the
action of the Corporal to
either depression or poor
visibility, as the terrain
where the incident
occurred was poor in the
early hours of the day.
ISWAP attacks
Chibok village,
abducts head of
civilian JTF,
others
The source said that
Mohammed Abba, head
of the civilian JTF in
Bambula community in
Chibok had been the
insurgents’ target since
he refused to get
compromised.
The head of the civilian
JTF was abducted
alongside many others
who are yet to be
identified.
The civilian JTF is a
vigilante group created to
assist the military fight
insurgency in the North-
East.
“The sporadic gunshots
woke us, and everybody
started running to safety.
The insurgents came in
through Ajigum Talala, a
part of the forest where
ISWAP has a strong unit.
“They headed straight
to Abba and took him.
They have been warning
him before but Abba
refused to cooperate with
them. They abducted
many others who couldn’t
run. They also burnt down
some properties including
a vehicle belonging to the
community head,” said a
resident who managed to
escape the attack.
The attack came a week
after the insurgents
attacked Korongilum in
Chibok, setting many
houses on fire.
Be mercilesss
against ISWAP,
Buhari charges
Consequently,
yesterday, President
Buhari charged the
Continues on Page 41
By Bose Adelaja,
Olayinka Latona
& Rose Chukwu
On plans to establish agency for repentant Boko Haram terrorists (3)
We can’t imagine
the level of
brainwashing they must
have been subjected to.
Also, we need to put
ourselves in their shoes
and feel the conflicts
they must have passed
through before finally
deciding to stay off
terrorism. This is a good
move by the Senate to
ensure they are properly
rehabilitated.
- B a b a t u n d e
Olamilekan
Corps Member
In order of priorities,
this should not be a
necessity for now.
Repentant Boko
Haram members
should be kept under
thorough surveillance.
The focus should be on
curtailing and
stopping these
terrorist attacks and
not paying all
attention on repentant
Boko Haram members.
-Babalola Eleazer
Linguist
Of all issues affecting
Nigerians, it’s total
misplacement of priority!
We have more than
enough agencies, and
adding this won’t do us
good and this might
promote insurgency in
other parts of the country.
If this is allowed, in no
distant time, agency to
cater for South-South
repentant militants will be
pushed forward. All this
will increase our recurrent
expenditure.
-Oyedokun Ibukun
Public Analyst
In my own opinion, I
think it is not a
wise idea. I mean, is
there such a word as
‘repentant’ for these
people?
I sincerely doubt it.
For me, it’s ‘once a
criminal, always a
criminal.’ I am not
comfortable with the
bill. It should be
discarded. The focus
should be about stopping
them from further attacks
-Adora Blessing
Mediprenuer
Why establish a
rehabilitation
agency when we have an
Anti-Terrorism Dept? It’s
better to fund the dept. than
create an agency for BH
which will later be used to
embezzle government funds,
If the agency is created,
after defeating BH, what
happens to it? We need to
think and do the right
thing. Just like FSARS, the
agency will not have an
agenda or purpose again
then the citizens will be
affected.
-Samuel Gbadegesin
Fashionpreneur
The plan the Senate
to establish a rehabilitation
agency for repentant
Boko Haram is
a national and security
risk to the country. The
question I ask is; where
is the fund for rehabilitation
and who is going
to head the agency? I
believe this is a wrong
move by the Senate. In
a country where there is
a lot of unemployment
and insecurity.
-Ifeanyi Okolie
Activist