The Nigerian Army is investigating the alleged killing of a water melon seller by a soldier in Zamfara.
The deceased was said to have asked the soldier to pay for the good he bought before he was gunned down by the personnel
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yerima,who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday inAbuja ,said the incident was quite regrettable, adding that the Nigerian army condoles with the family of the deceased.
Accordiing to him, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division, Maj.-Gen. Usman Yusuf, had since commissioned a panel to unravel the circumstances that led to the altercations which eventually claimed one life.
,He said efforts are ongoing to arrest the yet to be identified perpetrator.
The army spokesman said that no military operational vehicle was set ablaze as claimed in a report surrounding the incident.
He said that the Nigerian army remained professional and would never condone any act of misconduct by troops against the “very people they are deployed to protect’’.
Yerima said the alleged perpetrator once identified, will be subjected to a thorough investigation and if found wanting, will be made to face the full wrath of the law in accordance with extant provisions.
He said normalcy had been restored in the area and reiterated the Army’s commitment in the discharge of its constitional duties adding that measures are being put in place to avert a reoccurrence of the incident
