Nigerians yesterday faulted Nigerian Army after it denied opening fire on protesting women and children in Lamurde Local Council Area of Adamawa State. It was alleged that the Nigerian Army killed over 20 persons.
It was reported that there was a communal crisis between Chobo and Bachama tribes.
A resident in the community who does not want to be identified said there were attacks and reprisals, and that members of a community came to two of his villages in the early hours Monday, burnt and killed residents and residents of the community went on a revenge mission to staged attack at noon.
It was claimed that while this was happening, the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria police did not show up but arrived only after the conflict had ended and immediately imposed a curfew.
The women began to revolt and claimed that the army was supporting the other side and while the protest was going on, soldier opened fire and killed 10 women. Four died on the spot while the others died on the way to the hospital and at the hospital, that the number was aside over 20 others who sustained bullet wounds.
But responding, the Nigerian Army through Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations Sector 4 Operation Hadin Kai/23 Brigade, Olusegun Abidoye, referred to the report as baseless. He said the report is bereft of truth and therefore entirely misleading.
He said combined troops of 23 Brigade Garrison, Nigeria Police Force, NSCDC and DSS received information about the communal clashes between the two communities at about 1:30.a.m on Monday, December 8, 2025.
He said troops moved swiftly to the affected communities to return normalcy to the affected areas of Tingno, Rigange, Tito, Waduku and Lamurde, that in the course of its operations, a militia armed group suspected of fighting for one of the warring communities- Chobo attacked the troops.
He said the troops engaged the militia armed men in the fire fight and during the exchange of fire, troops neutralised three of the gunmen and forced other members of the militia group to flee the general area.
He said the troops and other security agencies later exploited the withdrawal route of the militia group, where an additional five neutralised members of the armed men were discovered with a motorcycle.
He said the troops received a distress call that a warring community had mobilized to attack Lamurde Local Government’s Secretariat and 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. He said the troops created a passage and proceeded to the Council Secretariat to secure the area and that no woman was shot or injured.
Responding, a man identified as Chiojioke popularly known as General Snow said: “I had serious doubts that our highly professional military personnel would open fire on protesting women and children. I even considered the possibility that Boko Haram operatives disguised as soldiers might have been involved in order to tarnish the image of the army.
“However, after reading your explanation, I now understand that it was indeed our military personnel present at the location, and not terrorists. From the first video I saw, it appeared that the military were initially blocked by protesting women and children, and one soldier was seen recording, presumably for documentation or evidence. In the second video, we saw the chaos unfold, with women lying on the ground, some appearing seriously injured, while others were shouting and crying, terrified, which is the same location where the military were reportedly blocked.
“In your statement, you mentioned that the military created a passage in order to advance. Could you kindly clarify how this passage was created and how that passage resulted in the women lying on the ground Ded, and some with injuries in the second video?”
