Three innocent civilians were killed and at least 13 seriously wounded when a soldier, described by witnesses as being drunk or drugged, opened fire on a group of people in the Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State on Wednesday, March 23.
A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, told RNI reporter Fatima Grema Modu that the incident occurred at about 10am. He said the soldier was attached to Operation Hadin Kai of the Northeast Theatre Command.
“Three of us were sitting in front of a shop when we saw a soldier pass by us. He was using abusive language and appeared to be drunk or drugged. A few minutes later we heard the sounds of gunshots and we ran for our lives. Later people told us that three people were shot dead by the soldier and at least 13 people were seriously wounded.”
He said many residents were scared. Some even fled the town thinking it was an attack by insurgents. “We do not know if anything was done but we think the soldier was arrested.”
A second witness, who also asked to remain anonymous, told RNI that the soldier went into a wedding reception and started shooting haphazardly until he ran out of bullets.
“There was no one there to control him and everyone just ran for cover and hid under tables,” the witness said.
“After that, people tried to stop him but he was being difficult and it was only when other soldiers arrived that he was disarmed and arrested by military authorities. It was a scary experience.”
The second witness claimed that at least 10 people, not three, were killed. However subsequent reports confirmed three people had died.
Other witnesses said a traveller who had stopped to buy water was shot and wounded and a humanitarian worker was hit in the leg.
They said the deceased were taken to the morgue and the wounded were receiving treatment in the military hospital. “They will probably be transferred to a public hospital while the shooting is being investigated.”
This was not the first time a soldier had shot indiscriminately at civilians.
A retired army officer, Ali Muhammad, said: “I witnessed such incident while in service with the force during 1968 in the Mami market of Enugu State in the southeast of Nigeria when a soldier open fire on people. He was shooting wildly and was only stopped when a fellow soldier managed to seize the gun from him.”
He attributed this abnormal behaviour to depression, confirming that some soldiers resorted to taking drugs because of their condition.
“Times have changed. Before the insurgency, soldiers remained together in barracks. Now they are on the frontline and come face to face with the enemies on a regular basis. It’s not easy for them and a lot of soldiers end up with depression. They have seen their fellow soldiers killed in the line of duty. They face the threat of dying every day. The depression, especially when mixed with drugs or alcohol, can make them do crazy things, such as shooting at innocent citizens.”
Muhammad said even when he was a serving as soldier he had experienced depression. “I was told to calm down because, as a soldier, I had to be strong.”
He said army officials should pay more attention to the soldiers serving under them and notify specialists, such as psychologists or psychiatrists, who could help soldiers suffering from depression to cope.
Aisha Jamal
