The Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army ( NA) has reacted to “insinuations” on social media alleging that a soldier of the 35 Artillery Brigade terminated his life due to non-payment of Ration Cash Allowance (RCA).
The reactions were contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Division’s Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Lt. Col. Olabisi Ayeni.
Ayeni, clearing the air on the incident disclosed 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.
Investigation into the immediate cause of the incident, Ayeni explained, indicated that the deceased soldier reportedly handled his personal weapon negligently and misfired, which resulted to his death. His colleagues who heard the sound of a gunshot had rushed to the scene of the incident only to find the soldier in the pool of his blood with gunshot wounds to the head.
Ayeni added that the remains of the soldier has been evacuated and deposited at the Federal Medical Centre Abeokuta and that the Division has informed the deceased family and expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathy over the unfortunate incident.
The Division viewed it worrisome that mischief makers would employ such a sad occurrence to malign the image of the Division and the NA in general and reiterated its commitment to providing the necessary welfare required to boost the morale of troops under command in line with the Command Philosophy of the Chief of Army Staff.
