81 Division, Nigerian Army, has explained the circumstances surrounding the death of a soldier while on duty at the 35 Artillery Brigade, Abeokuta on Monday.
According to preliminary investigation by the army on the immediate cause of death revealed that the soldier was said to have reportedly handled his weapon negligently and misfired, which resulted in his death.
It was learnt that shortly after the gunshot was heard, his colleagues had rushed to the scene of the incident, only to find the “soldier in the pool of his blood with gunshot wounds on the head.”
In a statement by the Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 81 Division NA on Wednesday, 17th, January 2024, Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni said the attention of Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army (NA) has been drawn to insinuations making the rounds on social media alleging that a soldier of 35 Artillery Brigade terminated his life due to non-payment of Ration Cash Allowance (RCA).
“Having lost one of its soldiers, the authorities of the Division feel deeply concerned that some mischief makers under whatever guise would employ such a sad occurrence to malign the image of the Division and the NA in general.
“Nevertheless, for the sake of posterity, it needs to be mentioned that the late soldier was deployed at the Brigade Standby Force on Monday, 15 January 2024 alongside his colleagues for daily cantonment duty and they were adequately fed in line with NA’s standard for troops’ on duties.
“However, the investigation into the immediate cause of the incident, indicated that the deceased soldier reportedly handled his weapon negligently and misfired, which resulted in his death. His colleagues who heard the sound of a gunshot rushed to the scene of the incident, only to find the soldier in the pool of his blood with gunshot wounds on the head.
Lt Col Ayeni further explained that “investigation has since commenced to unravel the circumstances and possible remote cause of the unfortunate incident, while the remains of the soldier has been evacuated and deposited at the Federal Medical Centre Abeokuta.
The Division, through the Commander 35 Artillery Brigade, has informed the deceased family and also expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathy over the unfortunate incident.”
The spokesperson of the division further reiterated that the Division is committed to providing the necessary welfare required to boost the morale of troops under command in line with the Chief of Army Staff Command Philosophy and the Division will not under any guise take the welfare of its troops lightly as wrongly insinuated.”
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