Skip to main content

Soldiers Attack Borno COVID-19 Committee Enforcing Lockdown, Kill One, Injure Four

One person was reported killed and four others injured after Nigerian soldiers attached to the 7 Division attacked officials of the COVID-19 Committee at Auno checkpoint in Borno State.

SaharaReporters gathered that the state Attorney-General, Kakashehu Lawal, and Commissioner for Health, Dr Salisu Kawaya-Bura, were among the committee members when the incident occurred.

The soldiers, disregarding the ongoing interstate travel ban, forced their way through the entrance gate to Borno and allowed hundreds of illegal travellers into the town. 

The armed personnel, who arrived in three gun trucks, allegedly threatened to open fire on the COVID-19 Committee members.

Speaking with a journalist, Lawal alleged that the soldiers forced their way by pulling down the barricade preventing non-essential travellers into the state by the committee.

He said that the troops in three Hilux gun trucks, who claimed to be on a mission to repel Boko Haram attack on Gubio, fatally struck the convoy of the Rapid Response Squad enforcing the lockdown.

He said that the force of the collision propelled the RRS Hilux vehicle down the roadway, causing it to summersault and killing one person while injuring three security men.

"After hitting the vehicle, the soldiers pointed their gun trucks at us and began assaulting us. 

"One of the soldiers looked at me and told me "To hell with democracy, useless democracy”.

"Others raised their guns at us, while one of them removed the cap of a policeman attached to the team.

"A cameraman attached to the team from the deputy governor's office was also attacked and beaten while his camera was seized by the soldiers," Lawan said.

The deputy governor, Umar Kadafur, who chairs the COVID-19 committee, arrived at the scene of the faceoff and called the garrison commander to meet him at the scene.

Kadafur also ordered the return of the seized video camera while condemning the action of the soldiers.

The garrison commander, who apologised for the action of the soldiers, said the perpetrators have been identified and would face disciplinary action.

The garrison commander also said that the officer commanding the soldiers that violated the restriction order said they acted based on the fact that incoming travellers trying to escape the committee had gathered at a location and the soldiers were worried that they could come under attack by Boko Haram insurgents.

Military PUBLIC HEALTH News AddThis :  Original Author :  Saharareporters, New York Disable advertisements : 

from All Content
via

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian Academy Of Science Inducts First Female President

The Nigerian Academy of Science has inducted a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, Ekanem Ikpi Braide, as its 19th President on Thursday. In a statement issued by Oladoyin Odubanjo, the Executive Secretary of the Academy, Braide is the Academy’s first female President in 44 years of existence. It read, “Braide was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria. “She has a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria. “She was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Health to serve in the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR). “Professor Braide served as Vice-Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as P
Post a Comment
Read more

NLNG Signs Letter Of Intent On Delayed Gas Expansion Project

The Nigerian Natural Liquefied Gas LTD has signed a letter of intent for the engineering, procurement and construction of its long held up Train Seven project. In a statement released by the company on Wednesday, it said that the $10bn project will be executed by a consortium of Italian firm Saipem, Japan’s Chiyoda and South Korea’s Daewoo. The statement reads, “The project will form part of the investment of over $10bn including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby boosting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment profile of Nigeria.” Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Atta, said in 2018 that the Final Investment Decision would be made in the fourth quarter of that year. This did not however, materialize. According to the release, the project will have a four to five-year execution time after the signing of the FID. The project is expected to add an extra 8 million tons per annum of gas to the 22 mtpa currently exported by the company. Oil News AddThis : 
Post a Comment
Read more

Former Maritime Agency Boss, Buba Galadima, Accuses AMCON Of Witch-hunt After Property Takeover

  A former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Agency, Buba Galadima, has accused the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria of witch-hunt after the agency took possession of his business and assets on Tuesday in Abuja. Galadima, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed that he did not borrow money or have unpaid debt with Unity Bank, which lodged a complaint against him and occasioned AMCON’s move on Tuesday. The properties taken over include House No. 15, Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse Zone 4, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and House No. 4, Bangui Street, Wuse 2, also in Abuja.  Reacting to the situation, Galadima said, “This is an attempt to disgrace and break me down. This is injustice and an attempt to humiliate me. "But I am unbreakable and they can never silence me. They sacked me and over 50 people that sleep in the apartment. "We don’t know where to go. We will remain on the streets. We will remain on the streets until God provi
Post a Comment
Read more