The 23 Brigade of the Nigerian Army has described media reports of purported shooting of women protesters by escort to Brigade Commander as absolutely false.
Acting Assistant Director Army Public Relations Sector 4 Operation Hadin Kai / 23 Brigade, Capt. Olusegun Abidoye in a statement issued Tuesday insisted that the report against the Brigade and its Commander was unfounded and false allegations.
He said: “Contrary to this allegation, Headquarters 23 Brigade wishes to state that the report is bereft of truth and therefore entirely misleading. It is nothing short of an attempt to smear the image of the Brigade and its Commander and by extension the Nigerian Army.
“It is necessary to inform the general public that neither the Brigade Commander nor his escorts was at the scene of the communal clash as the Brigade Commander was participating virtually in the Chief of Army Staff’s weekly operational brief at the time of the purported shooting by his escorts.
“Headquarters 23 Brigade wishes to set the record straight that combined troops of 23 Brigade Garrison, Nigerian Police Force, NSCDC and DSS received information about the communal clashes between Bachama and Chobo tribes of Lamurde LGA of Adamawa State at about 0135 hours ( 1:30 AM) of Monday, 8 December 2025.”
Abidoye explained that the communal clash was as a result of the unresolved land disputes and ethnic acrimony between Chobo and Bachama tribes.
He noted that the troops moved swiftly to the affected communities to return normalcy to the affected areas of Tingno, Rigange, Tito, Waduku and Lamurde.
Abidoye added: “In the course of its operations, a militia armed group suspected of fighting for one of the warring communities- Chobo attacked the troops.
“The troops, being a professional, adaptable and combat ready force decisively engaged the militia armed men in the fire fight. During the exchange of fire, troops neutralized 3 of the gunmen and forced other members of the militia group to flee the general area.
“The troops were able to put the clashes under control. The troops and other security agencies later exploited the withdrawal route of the militia group, where an additional 5 neutralized members of the armed men were discovered with a motorcycle. “Furthermore, the troops received a distress call that a warring community had mobilised to attack Lamurde Local Government’s Secretariat.
“While moving to secure the Secretariat, some women blocked the road to deny troops passage to the Secretariat while armed men suspected to be fighting for Bachama extraction fired indiscriminately within the community.
“Troops then created a passage and proceeded to the Local Government Secretariat ( LGS) to secure the area. At this point, no woman was shot or injured. Otherwise, troops would not have been allowed to find any passage through the crowd.
“The troops were able to secure the Secretariat from the assailant. While stationed at the Local Government Lodge (LGL), 2 corpses of women were brought to the Lodge by the people of the community and alleged that they were killed by own troops.
“Without equivocation, the casualties were caused by the unprofessional handling of automatic weapons by the local militias who are not proficiently trained to handle such automatic weapons.
“Notwithstanding, the Brigade deeply sympathizes with the family of the slain women and urges the warring communities to embrace peace to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and destruction of properties.”
Abidoye added that the Brigade remained resolute and committed to the discharge of its constitutional duties in aid of civil authorities and would continue to apply due diligence as it conducts its operational engagements to ensure peace and stability in its Area of Responsibility.