Soldier Runs Amok, Kills Two In Borno

• Colleagues avert collateral damage, neutralize him

A Female Humanitarian aid worker and a soldier have been gunned down by an indolent soldier of the 25 Task Force Brigade in Borno who ran amok on Thursday.

Confirming the development, the Nigerian Army said one of its soldiers engaged in the battle against terrorists in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, went berserk on Thursday, and in the unfortunate attack, another person, a United Nations (UN) pilot was injured by the soldier.

According to available reports, the rampaging soldier would have taken more lives, but for the intervention of his colleagues who quickly neutralised him.

Reacting to the sad incident, the Theatre Commander of “Operation HADIN KAI’’, Major General Christopher Musa expressed regret at the sad occurrence at one of its military bases.

A statement issued by the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations. Headquarters, Theatre Command, Major Samson Zhakom said the soldier shot and killed a staff member of one of the NGOs providing humanitarian support in the Northeast.

Zhakom further said that the “Same soldier also killed another soldier and injured the co-pilot of one of the UN helicopters. Own troops on the ground immediately neutralised the errant personnel.”

However, he disclosed that the injured co-pilot had been stabilised while the corpses of the deceased have been moved to the 7 Division Hospital, adding that detailed investigations into the incident and subsequent remedial actions had already started.

It was gathered that the soldier walked off his base in the remote town of Damboa in Borno, on Thursday and decided to go on a shooting spree using an Ak47 riffle.

The development compelled humanitarian workers of an international non-governmental organisation waiting at the military base to board a helicopter back to Maiduguri to scamper to safety.

One of the humanitarian agencies’ workers, Mr Abdulkareem Ibrahim, said the soldier emptied his magazine and after realising that he had run out of bullets, brought out a jackknife.

“He stabbed a female staff of one of the international NGOs four times, killing her before injuring the helicopter pilot,’’ Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim said the rampaging soldier again turned and chased his colleagues before he was gunned down to prevent him from causing further human losses.

He said that the pilots and the crew were safely back in Maiduguri while efforts were ongoing to stabilise the wounded co-pilot at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. – With NAN reports