A Nigerian soldier attached to the 35 Artillery Brigade, Abeokuta has unintentionally killed himself.
According to the spokesman supervising the brigade of the 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Lt.-Col. Olabisi Ayeni, the soldier died from an accidental gunshot to his head.
Upon hearing the accidental gunfire, the deceased’s colleagues hurried to the scene and found him in a pool of his blood.
“Investigation has since started to unravel the circumstances and possible remote cause of the unfortunate incident.
“The remains of the soldier have been evacuated and deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta,” Ayeni explained.
He advised the public to disregard insinuations making the rounds on social media that the soldier ended his life due to non-payment of Ration Cash Allowance.
“The late soldier was deployed to the Brigade Standby Force on January 15, alongside his colleagues and they were adequately fed in line with the Nigerian Army’s standard for troops on duty.
“The division feels deeply concerned that some mischief makers will employ such sad occurrence to malign the image of the Nigerian Army,’’ Ayeni stressed.
He added that the division, through the Commander, 35 Artillery Brigade, had communicated to the deceased’s family. He further expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathy over the sad incident.
“It is pertinent to reiterate that the division is committed to providing the necessary welfare required to boost the morale of troops.
“Therefore, the division will not under any guise take the welfare of its troops lightly as being wrongly insinuated,” Ayeni also stated.
