Tension in Maiduguri after soldiers kill man, snatch his car

By Blogger 

Two ‘thieving-soldiers’ serving under the 7 Division of the Nigeria Army in Maiduguri face possible execution if an ongoing military court martial found them guilty in the the gruesome  murder of a fresh university graduate, witnesses and security officials said. 

The thieving soldiers, according to inside military sources, did not only shot their victim at close range and dumped his body by the road side, they also took the stolen car to their barracks to show off to their colleagues.  

But fate did not allow the soldiers to confirm the state of being of their victim who managed to survive some extra few minutes to relate his ordeal to members of the youth vigilante called Civilian-JTF. 

According to accounts of credible family sources, the “robbers in military uniform” who rather than sticking to their tasked job of fighting Boko Haram terrorists,took to forceful snatching of cars from hapless civilians, many of whom may have lost their lives. The soldiers ran out of luck on Thursday when their last victim whom they thought was dead managed to  hold his breathe until he was able to narrate his ordeal before passing out at the hospital. 

Echoes was duly informed that  Muhammed Konto Sulum, a final year graduate of physics from the university of Maiduguri, had on Thursday evening offered to give a uniformed soldier a lift after the latter stopped him at an area called  Pompomari in Maiduguri. Unknown to the unsuspecting young man, the soldier who had an evil mission was conniving with another soldier who was standing ahead of  him. 

When they drove near the second soldier, the first private soldier begged Muhammed to also help his colleague whom he said was his friend at the barracks. The two soldiers, after allowing the young man to drive to a point where there was no heavy traffic, ordered him to step down and summarily fired shots at him at point blank. 

The two soldiers took over the car and drove off thinking that the young graduate of physics had died. 

“The youngman, in his early 20s managed to crawl to the road side, dripping blood and some of our members of the civilian-JTF who were setting out on evening patrol spotted him’, said an official of Civilian-JTF. “Though he was weak and in pains, he was able to use his last strength to narrate his ordeal before he fainted. He was rushed to the hospital but unfortunately, he died while doctors were trying to save his life”. 

Armed with the statement given by late Muhammed who, according to his family members, had just returned to Maiduguri from Abuja to defend his final year project thesis, some members of the Civilian-JTF  decided to take the report to the barracks along side some relatives of the deceased. 

“But as we were entering the barracks, to the shock of all of us, we saw two soldiers driving out of the barracks with Muhammed’s car; that was how we raised alarm and the two soldiers were apprehended”, said a top officer of the Civilian-JTF who begged not to be named in this report. 

Confirming the incident to journalists on phone father of the murdered young man, Konto Abba Sulum, said in broken voice that “I want the world to know that the soldier turned  the gun given to him to protect the citizens in carrying out this  evil act against my son; only God knows how many people became victims of this kind of wickedness.I have no much to say on this as I seek the face of God for judgment.  My wish is that unsuspecting citizens should know this so as to forestall future occurrence,” he said.

Hajiya Ajuji, a grand mother of the murdered youngman had in tears told journalists that “Mohammed simply offered a ride to the heartless soldiers but he ended up killing him around the by- pass. We would go to any level to seek for justice”. 

A very senior soldier at the headquarters of the 7 Division in Maiduguri confirmed the incident to Echoes but declined giving details of the culprits. 

“All I can tell you is that the incident happened and the two soldiers involved have since been arrested, stripped of their uniforms and are undergoing summary court martial, and from all indication they may not escape summary execution because they were caught with the car with the registered number and even some personal items belonging to their victims inside”. 

The top officer also revealed that further investigations are being conducted to verify if there are other soldiers who may have had any information about the theft but failed to report it superiors before or after the incident. 

“I assure you that any one that is found to have any form of connivance “whether by omission or commission would all be summarily tried and executed”, said the officer.