NIGERIAN Army (NA) has reacted to the controversial death of a soldier attached to Headquarters 35 Artillery Brigade Abeokuta, Ogun state, on Monday, January 15.
Multiple reports say the late soldier, Boyi ThankGod, suddenly shot himself in the head while on duty.
The incident reportedly happened on Monday, January 15, a day set aside to mark the “Armed Forces Remembrance Day”.
According to a report, before taking his own life, ThankGod allegedly complained about not getting his allowances paid and had depressive symptoms.
The soldier’s corpse, in the pool of his blood, was seen in an image sent to The ICIR.
Responding to the incident in a statement signed on Tuesday, January 16, by the acting deputy director of Army public relations, 81 Division, Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni, a lieutenant colonel, said the deceased soldier reportedly handled his weapon negligently and misfired, which resulted in his death.
Ayeni said the attention of Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army ( NA) was drawn to “insinuations making the rounds on social media”, alleging that the soldier terminated his life due to non-payment of ration cash allowance (RCA).
“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, 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 personal weapon negligently and misfired, which resulted in his death. His colleagues who heard the sound of gunshot 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,” the statement reads.
The Army added that further investigation had since commenced to unravel the circumstances and possible remote cause of the unfortunate incident, while the remains of the soldier had been evacuated and deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.
According to the Army, the Division, through the Commander 35 Artillery Brigade, had informed the deceased family and also expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathy over the incident.
The Army said the Division was committed to providing the necessary welfare required to boost troops morale in line with the Chief of Army Staff Command’s philosophy.
It promised not to take the welfare of its troops lightly under any guise as insinuated.
The ICIR reports that in the past few years, a few Nigerian military soldiers have taken their own lives.
Alphonsus Alexander Kalthy Bazza, a captain in the Nigerian Army, committed suicide in Akwa Ibom state in November 2023.
According to reports, another soldier hanged himself in Abuja in 2019.
A reporter with the ICIR
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