Nigerian soldier kills colleague, self in another suicide rage

There has been received report of yet another Nigerian Army soldier who opened fire at a military facility in Abuja on Sunday, killing one colleague and injuring another before fatally ripping apart his own mouth with the rifle.

Coming within a few days after another suicide by a soldier in Borno State, the tragic end of the officer, identified as Markus Yusuf, appears to fit a disturbing pattern of such tragic incidents across military formations — one which military authorities are reluctant to publicly acknowledge.

Mr Yusuf’s death occurred in Giri, a suburb of Abuja where the Army Headquarters Garrison runs a farm settlement, military sources said.

He was in the company of his colleagues on an open concrete used for physical exercise when he started shooting, forcing most of them to flee.

His bullets, however, hit two fellow soldiers, instantly killing one and severely injuring the other. The injured soldier was identified as Monday Gwakar, a corporal. He was promptly taken to the Defence Headquarters Medical Centre in Abuja.

Mr Yusuf was said to be under the influence of alcohol prior to the lethal rage, but it was not immediately clear whether there were other underlining factors.

A spokesperson for the Nigerian Army did not immediately return requests for comments about the development.

The latest incident happened a few days after Adegor Okpako, a staff sergeant killed himself after killing a sergeant colleague and wounding four others on September 19.

Mr Okpako was attached to 192 Battalion in Gwoza, a former Boko Haram stronghold nearly 1,000 kilometres from Abuja, when he committed suicide at about 2:50 p.m.

The incident came only two days after he returned from a short break for undisclosed reasons.

Both cases came as Nigerian soldiers are witnessing a increasingly difficult phase in their battle against the extremist Boko Haram sect and other violent criminals.