Nigerian soldier kills fellow soldier

A Nigerian Army captain who led an emergency response team was killed in Adamawa State on Sunday, was gunned down by a fellow soldier who subsequently took his own life.

The exact location of the shooting remained unclear on Saturday night but one military insider said it happened in Madagali, Adamawa State.

Our sourced said a report of the incident has been filed by the Nigerian Army 28 Brigade Headquaters in Mubi, Adamawa State, to the 7 Division Headquarters in Maiduguri, Borno State.

Those familiar with the incident said Army captain, T. Mani, was on Sunday morning patrol with other officers when they responded to a distress call that Silas Ninyo, a staff sergeant, was beating civilians at a nearby location.

Upon arrival, Mr. Mani and his team members prevailed on Mr. Ninyo and rescued the civilians from him; but the situation quickly turned fatal when the service men tried to disarm their raging colleague.

Mr. Ninyo opened fire, killing Mr. Mani, authorities said.

The incident occurred at about 12:50 p.m. and the remains of the two soldiers were later deposited at Brigade Medical Centre in Yola, the state capital.

All officers around the brigade have been warned to be on the alert as whole-scale investigation of the incident continued.

The tragedy appears to be the deadliest episode of soldier-on-soldier violence amongst Nigerian troops in recent months, although security analysts believe mutinous attacks are not uncommon.

“Unfortunately, conflict between armed service members is not an unusual occurrence,” said security analyst Mukhtar Dan’Iyan. “Hopefully, escalation to this extent won’t happen again anytime soon as it diminishes professionalism and erodes esprit de corps.”

The incident report said the motives for Mr. Ninyo’s attack on the civilians and the deadly assault on his senior colleague were not immediately clear.

Nigerian Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, did not respond to requests for comments Sunday night.

Adamawa State has witnessed renewed Boko Haram attacks in recent weeks, with Boko Haram killing scores in successive attacks on Madagali Local Government Area amidst fears that the insurgents might have returned to areas that were amongst the earliest to be liberated during the 2014 and 2015 military offensive.