Army Provides Official Account of Deadly Lamurde Clashes, Denies Shooting Protesters

YOLA, Adamawa State — The Headquarters of the Nigerian Army's 23 Brigade has issued a formal, detailed response to reports that its soldiers killed women protesters on Monday, categorically denying the allegations and providing an alternative narrative of a complex communal clash involving local militias.

In a press statement released on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, the military command described earlier media reports as "baseless," "unfounded," and "an attempt to smear the image of the Brigade." The statement presents a timeline of events that directly contradicts claims that soldiers escorting the Brigade Commander opened fire on a women's protest.

The Army's Account: A Timeline of Violence and Militia Action

According to Captain Olusegun Abidoye, the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for the Brigade, the incident stemmed from a long-simmering "communal clash" between the Bachama and Chobo ethnic groups in Lamurde Local Government Area over unresolved land disputes.

The Army's official sequence of events is as follows:

1.  Initial Clash and Military Deployment: At approximately 1:35 AM on Monday, December 8, combined security forces—including the Army, Police, NSCDC, and DSS—received reports of fighting. Troops were deployed to several communities, including Tingno, Rigange, Tito, Waduku, and Lamurde town, to quell the violence.

2.  Firefight with Militias: During this operation, troops were attacked by an armed militia group suspected of fighting for the Chobo community. In the ensuing firefight, three gunmen were "neutralized," and others fled.

3.  Road Blockage and Indirect Fire: Later, as troops moved to secure the Lamurde Local Government Secretariat from a threatened attack, they encountered a roadblock formed by women. The Army states that at this moment, "armed men suspected to be fighting for Bachama extraction fired indiscriminately within the community." Troops assert they created a passage through the crowd without harming anyone and proceeded to the secretariat.

4.  Discovery of Casualties: While stationed at the Local Government Lodge, community members brought two dead women to the troops, alleging the soldiers had killed them.

5.  Army's Conclusion on Cause of Death: The military's investigation concludes the women were not shot by soldiers. The statement attributes the deaths to "the unprofessional handling of automatic weapons by the local militias who are not proficiently trained to handle such automatic weapons."

Key Denials and Clarifications

The statement makes several specific points to counter the initial reports:

*   Brigade Commander's Whereabouts: It firmly states that the Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General Amechi Agwu, was not present at the scene. He was reportedly participating in a virtual operational briefing with the Chief of Army Staff at the time of the alleged shooting.

*   Nature of the Incident: The Army frames the entire event as a response to a violent inter-communal clash involving armed militias, not as a confrontation between soldiers and peaceful protesters.

*   Sympathy and Call for Peace: While denying responsibility, the Brigade expressed deep sympathy for the families of the slain women and urged the warring communities to embrace peace.

Contradicting Narratives and the Search for Truth

This official account directly conflicts with reports from local sources and media outlets like Sahara Reporters, which cited community witnesses claiming soldiers from the Brigade Commander's escort opened fire on women protesting a delayed response to a militia attack.

The Army's detailed rebuttal sets the stage for further investigation. It places the blame squarely on "unprofessional" local militias and emphasizes the troops' role as professional interveners in a chaotic situation. The public and human rights observers will now look to independent verification to reconcile these starkly different versions of a tragic event that has left a community in mourning and raised further questions about civil-military relations in conflict zones.

*Source: Official press statement from Headquarters 23 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Sector 4 Operation Hadin Kai.*