A soldier attached to the 35 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Abeokuta, has accidentally shot himself to death.

The soldier died from the accidental gunshot to his head, spokesman of the 81 Division, Nigerian Army, supervising the brigade, Lt.-Col. Olabisi Ayeni, stated on Wednesday.

Mr Ayeni stated that upon hearing the accidental gunshot, the deceased’s colleagues rushed to the scene and found him in a pool of his blood.

“Investigation has since started to unravel the circumstances and possible remote cause of the unfortunate incident. The remains of the soldier have been evacuated and deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta,’’ Mr Ayeni stated.

He urged members of the public to disregard insinuations making the rounds on social media that the soldier terminated his life because of the non-payment of the ration cash allowance. The late soldier was deployed to the Brigade Standby Force on January 15 alongside his colleagues and they were adequately fed in line with the Nigerian Army’s standard for troops on duty.

“The division feels deeply concerned that some mischief makers will employ such a sad occurrence to malign the image of the Nigerian Army,’’ Mr Ayeni stressed.

He added that the division, through the Commander, 35 Artillery Brigade, had informed the deceased’s family and also expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathy over the unfortunate incident.

“It is pertinent to reiterate that the division is committed to providing the necessary welfare required to boost the morale of troops.

“Therefore, the division will not, under any guise, take the welfare of its troops lightly as being wrongly insinuated,’’ Mr Ayeni also stated.

(NAN)