In reaction to the alleged killing of three Police officers by soldiers of the 93 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. TukurBuratai, has directed troops on internal security duties to being cautious in their dealings with members of the Police Force. The Army chief also warns travelling military personnel to do so in mufti in order to avoid confrontations with policemen.
In a letter dated August 9th and copied to Army formations nationwide, the Nigerian Army bemoaned the use of inflammatory comments in the social media by the Police, opining that it was capable of inciting the rank and file of the Force to “exhibit aggressive tendencies against Army personnel.”
Recall that the Intelligence Response Team of the Police, led by ASP Felix Adolije, had come under attack from soldiers along Ibi-JalingoRoad while taking a kidnap kingpin, HamisuWadume, to the Command Headquarters in Jalingo. Three officers; Inspector Mark Ediale, Sergeants UsmanDanzumi and Dahiru Musa, as well as a civilian, died, while others sustained gunshot wounds during the incident.
The Nigerian Army had claimed that the soldiers fired at the IRT team because they failed to stop at three checkpoints, but this was dismissed by the Police which demanded the whereabouts of the kidnap suspect who was allegedly set free by the soldiers.
