Soldiers hold deputy Borno State governor hostage and threaten to shoot him

TROOPS for the Seventh Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army recently held the deputy Borno State governor Alhaji Usman Durkwa hostage at a military checkpoint in neighbouring Yobe State.

During the incident which happened at Buni Gari town in Gujiba Local Government Area of Yobe State, on Sunday, May 7, 2017, the deputy governor was threatened by the soldiers. Alhaji Durkwa was said to be returning from Adamawa State, where he had attended the turbaning ceremony of Martins Babale, his Adamawa counterpart in Ganye Local Government Area.

When Alhaji Durkwa’s convoy got to the military checkpoint, there was no soldier was in sight and a policeman attached to his security detail attempted to remove the barricade on the road. There and then, the military personnel started springing out from different directions and asked started manhandling the policeman.

One of the soldiers was said to have used the butt of his gun to hit the policeman on the head. Some security personnel in the deputy governor's team moved in to explain to the officers that they were accompanying a government official but the soldiers were said to have been irritated by the explanation.

After about 15 minutes of the ensuing drama, the deputy governor alighted from the vehicle but the soldiers were said to have refused to accord him the respect that he deserves. It took the intervention of some senior officers to calm the irate troops before the deputy governor was allowed to continue his journey.

One eyewitness said: “The soldiers took positions from different directions, aiming at the convoy, with the threat to open fire. Apparently, the soldiers pointed AK47 rifles, anti-aircraft guns and a rocket propelled grenade at the deputy governor's convoy.

“After they had denied him access for about 15 minutes, the deputy governor, having seen what was going on, came down from his vehicle to interfere but instead of showing him respect, the soldiers became more lawlessness. They said they don’t care about his office,  insulted and called him all sort of names.

He added that one of the soldiers, who pointed a gun at the deputy governor called him a bloody civilian and political thief. Apparently, the troops said they would not lose anything by killing the deputy governor.