The people of Taabaa community in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State have called on the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, to fish out those behind the sudden death of their son and brother, Captain Eebu Nule, who was performing his duty as a soldier in Kaduna State.
The traditional ruler of the area, who is the elder brother to the deceased, His Royal Highness, Mene M. Nule, the Mene Eedee I, Bua Baa, said investigation revealed that the soldier was shot from the back and through his spinal cord, leaving him with no chance of survival.
He also called on Buratai and the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin to expose the alleged professional shooter that killed Captain Nule.
The monarch explained that they had found out that there was conflict on February 2, 2018 when the community was greeted with the news that their son had been killed.
He pointed out that it was gathered that their brother was shot from the back at close range while he was carrying a directive to pin an area during an operation.
Nule (traditional ruler and elder brother to the deceased) said, “What we want to know now is the professional shooter that killed Nule at the point of operation and the only person that will answer this is Major Leonard Balogun.
“More disturbing is the fact that all the contacts made to the military formations and media houses within and around Kaduna State did not reveal the fact that there was any crisis in the state on the 2nd February when Nule was killed.”
He pointed out that the sudden death of the soldier was shocking to the entire Ogoniland, adding some of the sources approached so far to unravel the circumstance that led to Nule’s death had not been able to reveal what went wrong.
“Since 2nd of February, 2018 that Nule’s family and the Taabaa Community in Khana Local Government Area received the news of the sudden demise of our illustrious son, Captain Eebu Beele Glad Nule, we have been bothered with how he died based on revelations from his surviving squad members.
“The Garrison Commander, One Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, from where Captain Nule’s team was deployed to Nabango village, Birnin Gwari area, was not ready to tell us or investigate how the captain under his supervision died, but only advised us to arrange for his burial, claiming that the Army is surrounded by various enemies.
“Subsequent contact to Major Leonard A. Balogun, the Commanding Officer of special squad under which the deceased served as the Operational Commander, revealed that our son was hit by bullet while pinning where he (Balogun) asked him to pin immediately in front of the commander during an operation and died on the way to the hospital,” the monarch stressed.
The monarch lamented that Major Balogun gave contradictory report on different occasions he (Balogun) was called to assist with information on how Nule met his death.
He, however, recalled that a member of the special squad had informed him that a group of hoodlums attacked them while they (soldiers) were about entering a community that was in distress.
The traditional ruler, who made reference to the result of an autopsy, conducted on his late brother’s remains, said, “That it was lifeless body that arrived at the hospital. That he (Captain Nule) was shot from the back at a close range.”
According to him, “It is a professional shooter that would know that shooting through the spinal cord has a killing speed of about ninety-seven per cent.”
PUNCH
