A Corporal in the Nigerian Army (name withheld) formerly serving with the Joint Task Force, JTF, in Rivers State on Wednesday shot and killed himself in what his colleagues described as suicide over Boko Haram members gruesome murder of his parents and two children in Yobe State, North-Eastern Nigeria.
The soldier according to source was attached to the Abonima Command of the JTF, who are in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria to check the tide of various organized crimes in the area, including kidnappings, crude oil bunkering among others.
The dead soldier according to the source received the news of the killings of his immediate family members Tuesday through a relation based in Damaturu, Yobe State capital.
Details of the unfortunate incident were still sketchy at the time of this report.
A Lieutenant (name withheld) who volunteered the information to our correspondent, described the soldier as a coward. “He must be a coward for killing himself. He is not a soldier and shall definitely be tried posthumously and his corpse sentenced accordingly. He would not get any benefit for disgracing the military.”
He added that the incident happened at about 10.00am on Monday.
“His immediate commander is aware and has made appropriate report to the military authority and the necessary action would be taken in the military tradition.”
Yobe State is one of the three states President Goodluck Jonathan declared state of emergency in the north-east of Nigeria following Boko Haram insurgency.
Though the military authority has recently reviewed the terms and conditions of the state of emergency in Yobe State,the State and the entire North-Eastern part of Nigeria is still under the heavy artillery of the dreaded Islamic group Boko Haram insurgents.
