A Nigerian soldier was killed on Wednesday after being forced into a burning military vehicle in the southeastern part of the country, an official told Peoples Gazette.

The soldier, whose identity has been withheld to give military authorities enough time to convey the news to his loved ones, was on a patrol with his colleagues in Edema, Ebonyi, when they were ambushed by yet-unidentified gunmen.

A military source said the assailants then set the soldiers’ patrol truck alight and pushed the slain officer into the raging inferno. Charred remains of his body and the vehicle were shared amongst service members on Thursday afternoon.

Two other soldiers who took part in the patrol were still missing in action as of Thursday afternoon, the source said under anonymity because the military was still evaluating the situation.

Nigerian troops have faced pushback from residents in Ebonyi and other states across the South-East after repeated attacks on the civilian population in the region. The military said the campaign was aimed at rooting out those responsible for violent attacks believed to have stemmed from the ongoing separatist agitation.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has repeatedly denied ties to the attacks, but federal authorities said its members were linked to the violence and arrested. The group’s leader Nnamdi Kanu was abducted by Nigerian authorities from Kenya in June 2021 and has remained in the custody of the Buhari regime in Abuja.