Soldier runs amok, kills colleague, humanitarian worker, injures pilot

A soldier from the 25th Task Force Brigade in Borno went on a rampage on Thursday and shot and killed a humanitarian aid worker while wounding a UN pilot.

The soldier also killed one of his colleagues who tried to disarm him.

Reports said he would have taken more lives but for the quick intervention of colleagues who neutralized him.

Faced with the incident, the “HADIN KAI” Operation Theater Command expressed its regret for what happened in one of its military bases.

Samson Zhakom, the Assistant Director of Public Relations of the Army, said the soldier shot and killed a worker of one of the NGOs providing humanitarian aid in the North East.

“The same soldier also killed another soldier and wounded the co-pilot of one of the UN helicopters. Troops on the ground immediately neutralized the workers,” said Mr. Zhakom, the major.

He explained that the injured co-pilot has been stabilized, while the bodies of the deceased have been taken to the 7 Division Hospital.

He added that a detailed investigation of the incident and subsequent remedial actions have begun.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the soldier left the base in the remote town of Damboa in Borno on Thursday and went on a shooting spree using an Ak47 rifle.

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The development forced humanitarian workers from an international non-governmental organization who were waiting at the military base to board a helicopter to Maiduguri to go to safety.

One of the humanitarian agency workers, Abdulkareem Ibrahim, told NAN that after realizing that the soldier had emptied his magazine and run out of bullets, he pulled out a knife.

“He stabbed a female worker at an international NGO four times, killing the helicopter pilot before injuring him,” Mr Ibrahim said.

He added that the enraged soldier turned around again and chased after his colleagues before shooting him dead to prevent further destruction.

The pilot and crew returned safely to Maiduguri while efforts were being made to stabilize the injured co-pilot at the University of Maiduguri Hospital.

An official familiar with the matter said that due to the incident, the United Nations Humanitarian Aid team has suspended all helicopter missions to the area of ​​operation and until further notice.

Narrating the incident, an official familiar with the matter said, “An armed soldier came out of nowhere and started firing at the pilot and passengers.

“He shot a pilot, stabbed a passenger to death and also killed a fellow soldier.

“At the moment, the atmosphere here is tense as the Soldiers allegedly went to the heliport and insulted the air crew and humanitarians with all sorts of names.

“Suddenly, he shot the captain (pilot) who tried to escape, it is not yet clear whether the pilot was injured or not.

“Then (the soldier) turned to the humanitarians and started shooting. The humanitarians took to their heels and ran for safety.

“As they were running, one of the MDM workers (an expatriate) fell to the ground and the soldier came on top of him and stabbed him several times until he gave up the ghost.

“Other humanitarians took their heels from the military base. While the soldier was stabbing the deportee, he tried to disarm his comrade but was unfortunately stabbed to death.

“The military authorities immediately gave the order and the assailant (soldier) was shot dead.”

Commenting on the incident in a brief interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Friday morning, a senior army officer said, “This incident should not only be reported, but should also be an opportunity to have a deep conversation about the mental health of people who handle weapons. Combat fatigue and troop rotation from regular high-intensity surgery and PTSD management.