The image of the Nigerian Army on Wednesday, took another hit when some irked soldiers of the 7th Division, took laws into their hands shooting at a vehicle conveying the General Officer Commander (GOC) of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army.
Huhuonline.com understands that the soldiers, had been denied allowance for fifteen days while being made to operate with little or no equipment resulting in the death of twelve of them in an ambush by the Boko Haram Sect.
An eyewitness informed our reporter that the GOC, Major General Amadu Mohammed only escaped death by the whiskers after the aggrieved soldiers opened fire on his vehicle.
“The shooting occurred at the Maimalari Barracks along Baga Road in Maiduguri. I thought there was an attack in the barracks by the insurgents. It was later that I learnt the problem was within the barracks,” the eyewitness said.
He further stated that the bullet fired by one of the protesting soldiers at the GOC’s jeep pierced the passenger side of the vehicle but it is not yet clear if Mohammed was hit.
Huhuonline.com gathered that Mohammed was taken to a hospital in the barracks but has since been discharged.
Boko Haram had earlier ambushed members of the division on their way to Maiduguri from Kala-Balge local government area, killing 12 of them.
Responding to the incidence, the defence headquarters has instituted a military board of inquiry into the circumstances.A statement issued by Major General Chris Olukalade, said investigation is now ongoing into the issue.
“The 7 Division of the Nigerian Army is to institute a military board of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the conduct of soldiers who fired some shots today while the General Officers Commanding was addressing troops in Maimalari cantonment Maiduguri,” Olukolade said.
“The incident occurred when the corpses of four soldiers who died in an ambush while returning from patrol duties in Chibok was being conveyed to the morgue. There is calm in the cantonment and all normal operations activities are ongoing.”
