From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin with agency report
A soldier, Lance Corporal Mu’azu Haruna, attached to the 423 Battalion, Elele Barracks, in Rivers state has shot a colleague, staff sergeant Ishiaku Shu’aibu, to death in Bayelsa state.
It was learnt that the incident took place at the Bayelsa state government house in the evening of Monday. The shooting of his senior colleague was due to issues bordering on allowances.
It was further learnt that the aggrieved soldier, who was drafted to Maiduguri, Borno state, had come to the Government house to collect his allowances but the deceased allegedly prevented him from entering the premises.
It was gathered that the suspected killer soldier, who was in mufti at the time of the incident, allegedly snatched the service rifle of his colleague and shot the deceased.
A security source told our correspondent that the killer soldier had arrived from the Elele military barracks in Rivers state following the payment of duty allowances.
It was learnt that while two other colleagues on duty left their duty post briefly to attend to some personal matters, the killer soldier took the opportunity to shoot the staff sergeant to death.
The source said, “He immediately ran away with the rifle and boarded a commercial tricycle popularly known as Keke NAPEP and headed towards hospital road.
“The sound of the gun shots attracted the policemen on duty at the Banquet hall. The policemen however intercepted and stopped the tricycle.
“The policemen initially did not know the gunshots killed the soldier. Upon investigation, they saw the dead soldier in the pool of his own blood at his duty post.”
The policemen were said to have immediately arrested the suspected killer and the tricycle driver.
A security source, however, said the arrested soldier, who was taken to the Area Command Division of the Police, had since been released to the Joint Military Task Force due to the intervention of an unnamed Captain.
The police spokesman in the state, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, said the Command was aware of the incident and that the military had taken over the case.
“It is a pure military affair. The military has taken over the matter,” he said.
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