Men suspected to be soldiers have burnt several houses and destroyed property worth millions in Naka area of Gwer in Benue state, North-central Nigeria. It was gathered that the armed men carried out the raid in response to the killing of a soldier in the community. Residents told newsmen that the town was raided on Thursday by soldiers who were searching for one of their colleagues.
According to reports, trouble started on Wednesday when a man in military uniform came into the town and bought bread. It was further learned that, having watched the man who was said to have looked like a herdsman, the locals approached and demanded his identity but he failed to show a means of identification.
He was then taken to a military camp near Naka where soldiers still could not identify him as one of them. “When the soldiers could not identify him, the boys took him away and the next thing we heard was that he was killed,” one of the residents told Channels TV. But soldiers were said to have invaded the town on Thursday, demanding that youths produce the man.
And when the man could not be produced, the soldiers were said to have destroyed the village. Residents have deserted the town for fear of being harmed or killed. Meanwhile, the Nigerian army has confirmed the killing of a soldier. Spokesman of the army Major Olabisi Ayeni, said that a soldier, Private Danlami Gambo, was allegedly killed and buried in a shallow grave on Wednesday by some youths in Naka who then fled.
He said this after the attack on the village. “On 18 April 2018, at about 3:30 pm, troops of 707 Sf Brigade deployed at Naka in Gwer West LGA of Benue State observed the absence of PTE Danlami Gambo from his duty post. The soldier’s rifle was however found at the location,” he said in a statement.
“It was gathered that the soldier was last seen receiving a phone call but left in search of network and did not return. Troops immediately conducted patrols to search for the soldier during the search, at about 6.10 pm, our troops observed blood stains along a footpath leading to a newly dug grave. They immediately dug out the grave and the dead body of the missing soldier was found butchered. The corpse was later exhumed and deposited at the Nigerian Air Force mortuary, Makurdi.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that some locals were involved in the killing of the soldier which has led to the arrest of some suspects by a team dispatched from the unit to the scene of the incident. Investigations are ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of the soldier and to also arrest all the culprits involved.”
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