Another internal breach has been recorded among the North-East troops of the Nigerian Army after a yet-to-be identified soldier fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East opened fire on his colleague and killed him.
The deceased soldier was identified as Private Diko.
According to military sources, the duo were troops of Operation Desert Sanity and joined the army in 2020.
The incident occurred last Friday in Ngoshe, Gwoza Local Government Area of the state.
“They were having an argument and before you know it, he killed him (Diko). Both being 20NA were posted to 103 battalion Enugu but were moved to Borno to fight the Boko Haram insurgency,” a military source informed SaharaReporters.
There have been public concerns recently over the state of mental health of Nigerian soldiers, particular the ones fighting insurgency in the North-East.
Last week, another soldier identified as Lance Corporal Nwobodo Chinoso, shot dead the Commander of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Rabah in Sokoto State, Lt. Sam Oladapo.
Chinoso also shot the FOB Rabah Command Sergeant Major (CSM), Sgt. Iliyasu Inusa, and another private soldier, Attahiru Mohammed, after he had killed Oladapo.
After shooting his colleagues, he thereafter committed suicide by shooting himself.
In March 2022, Yahaya Ibrahim, a soldier fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East opened fire on his colleague, Abubakar Mohammed.
Ibrahim with army number 18NA/77/0725 was said to have suddenly cocked his rifle and shot Mohammed (96NA/ 42/4975) in the shoulder from behind.
In April 2021, Kila Jima, a corporal in the Army’s 152 Battalion, Banki, Borno State killed himself.
In March 2021, a soldier, Bello Useni, with the Nigerian Army School of Armour in Bauchi killed himself.
In September 2020, a lance corporal attached to the Army’s 27 Task Force Brigade in Buni Gari, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe state, committed suicide at his duty post.
In July 2020, a soldier in the Army’s 202 battalion in Bama, Borno State, killed a lieutenant who did not give him pass to visit his family.
In 2019, a soldier hanged himself in Abuja. And in 2017, another soldier committed suicide after killing his superior officer.
The recurring nature of such incidences has raised concerns about whether soldiers fighting Book Haram are receiving adequate mental and psychological treatment.
Some of the soldiers have in the past complained about poor welfare, overstaying in the region and abysmal treatment by the military hierarchy.
They said they were battling with depression and post-traumatic disorder because the authorities refused to carry out a rotation.
