The Nigerian Army 81 Division, on Wednesday, debunked the narrative that its operative, Boyi ThankGod, attached to 353 Artillery Regiment, Alamala, Abeokuta, Ogun State, shot himself dead.
It said the soldier rather died of negligence, having mishandled his firearms.
ThankGod, on Monday, during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, had allegedly shot himself in the head while on barracks duty at the 35 brigade headquarters and died immediately.
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According to a source, the soldier killed himself due to depression and low morale in the system.
The Eagle Online gathered that ThankGod had been grappling with issues of unpaid allowances and had shown lack of interest in his military duties, citing corruption within the military and a decline in morale as contributing factors to his distress.
The late soldier, who also reportedly left a handwritten note expressed frustration with his Commander, Lieutenant Colonel NY Suleiman Barka, detailing instances of alleged bias, lack of trust, and derogatory remarks from his superior officer.
However, the military, in a statement on Wednesday by the acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Ayeni, described the reports as insinuations and misinterpretation of the incident.
“The attention of Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to insinuations making the rounds on social media alleging that a soldier of 35 Artillery Brigade terminated his life due to non-payment of Ration Cash Allowance.
“Having lost one of its soldiers, the authorities of the Division feel deeply concerned that some mischief makers under whatever guise would employ such a sad occurrence to malign the image of the Division and NA in general,” the statement partly read.
Ayeni continued that ” further investigation has since commenced to unravel the circumstances and possible remote cause of the unfortunate incident, while the remains of the soldier have been evacuated and deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.
“The Division, through the Commander 35 Artillery Brigade, has informed the deceased family and also expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathy over the unfortunate incident.
“It is however, pertinent to reiterate that the division is committed to providing the necessary welfare required to boost the morale of troops under the command in line with the Chief of Army Staff’s philosophy. Therefore, the division will not under any guise take the welfare of its troops lightly as wrongly insinuated,” he added.
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