A member of the elite Guards Brigade caused a minor stir
during the wreath laying ceremony for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day
Celebrations by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Thursday.
The guard, who was part of the two columns of soldiers
drafted to form the firing party for the event, was seen fidgeting
with his gun which got stuck in the back of his belt.
In the process, the nozzle of the gun lowered,
prompting two members of the Presidential Guard, who were standing behind the
President’s Aide-de-Camp, who felt he had a negative intention, to form a human
shield around the President.
Another officer, believed to be a member of the Presidential Guard,
quickly moved to pull the soldier from the column, but had a rethink after
explanations by the soldier about his problem.
The Presidential Guard then assisted the soldier to release the rope
attached to the butt of the gun from his uniform.
However, the President, who was in the middle of the two rows of the
firing party in front of the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, was not ruffled
by the incident .
After the stir which occurred on the third and last round of the
shooting of the 21-gun salute later, Jonathan freed the traditional white
pigeons from a huge cage at the cenotaph.
He later signed the 2015 Register for celebrations.
It was learnt that the bullets usually used for the traditional military
ceremony are blank bullets which lack the capacity to inflict injuries.
It was also gathered that the officers in charge of the ceremony
normally embarked on a holistic weeding process and psychological screening of
those to take part in that aspect of the ceremony.
The event which held at the cenotaph opposite the Eagle Square at the
Central Area, was attended by the top echelons of the security forces and
government officials.
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