The family members of Sgt Rowland Tafida, who was killed by an unknown soldier in Maiduguri, recently, have called for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident of his death.
According to wife of the deceased, Mrs Bammun Tafida, said the news of her husband’s demise came to her as a rude shock, adding that she can’t imagine living a happy life without her heartthrob.
Mrs Tafida averred that her husband, who was among MOPOL Special Forces deployed to Maiduguri, was the breadwinner of the family, adding that catering for the children has not been easy for her.
Mrs Tafida said she wedded the Late Sgt Tafida on 6 October, 2013 and had two children with him before his demise on 8 February, 2020.
“I am still in shock. Justice must be served,’’ she said, adding that she was told that her husband was allegedly killed in Borno State by an unknown army corporal with an anti-aircraft rifle.
She explained that: ‘’Coping without my husband has not been easy. I am still in shock. I still feel he is in Maiduguri or Lagos and that he will come back home to us someday.
“It is as though I am dreaming. What I was told is that my husband went out to collect his phone from a charging shop when some soldiers and police officers were arguing and he was shot in the process by a soldier with an AA rifle.
“Since his demise, there has not been any official update from the army about the case. He was buried 16th of February in Jos. His corpse was brought home by his unit commander. He condoled with us and that is all.’’
She, however, described the death of her husband as an irreparable loss to the family.
‘’How can a killer soldier not be identified by the army? My husband was redeployed to Borno State to serve his beloved country. How could someone kill my husband and still be tagged an unknown soldier.
‘’Soldiers on daily basis account for their rounds. I demand a thorough investigation not only by the Nigerian authorities, but by the international community, so that justice can be fully served,’’ she said.
The deceased’s aunt, Mrs Zwancit Dazang, said neither the police nor the army has informed them of the update or the killer of Rowland since he was buried.
She said their son was on his way to the police camp at Limankara on that fateful day, without knowledge of what earlier transpired between his fellow MOPOL officer and the killer soldier.
“We got to know about our son’s tragic death in social media. He was dressed in combat boots, jeans and a MOPOL T-shirt, with his rifle strapped on his shoulder, when he was shot,” Dazang said.
“The anti-aircraft truck is lethal ammunition that can bring down a plane or helicopter from the sky; it can even destroy an armoured tank. That a soldier will use it to eliminate an innocent, but a fellow security officer like him is unimaginable.
“A vibrant police officer, with a very young family, was deliberately killed. His life wasted just like that. What was his fault? He wasn’t killed while fighting terrorists but by a soldier while walking, unprovoked and also did not provoke anyone. So, why take his life? That is barbaric and wicked.
“As I speak to you now, the late Rowland’s wife is emotionally-broken. She has not seen her husband for so long. And she and their two lovely daughters, ages five and two, were looking forward to a reunion with their husband, and father before tragedy struck.
“What has Rowland done for anyone to take his life? The soldier who killed Rowland must be brought to book. Our son was there in Borno to defend his country. So, why should he be eliminated by someone he never hurt or offended?”
It was gathered that the homicide occurred at Makara Area of Gwoza local government area after a face-off between a Mopol officer and the soldier.
Apparently, not feeling good, the corporal opened fire on the deceased and his colleagues with an anti-aircraft gun. The shooting also damaged some facilities at the Limankara police training camp.
Tafida was among the MOPOL Special Forces team deployed to Gwoza last August, on counter-insurgency operations and would have completed his six months anti-terrorism operation on February 8, 2020.
Rowland, a father of two young girls, had already planned to depart Borno this weekend after his tour of duty.
An eyewitness described the killing as unfortunate and disheartening. He recalled that the whole drama started with a shouting match between the soldier and a police officer over a girlfriend.
The eyewitness said: “Some people intervened and settled the matter when the aggrieved army corporal asked a driver of an anti-aircraft gun Hilux belonging to his military base to turn and face the Limankara police training camp.
“Immediately after turning the vehicle, they opened fire and shot at the camp’s facility. It was at that moment, Tafida, the late police sergeant, was killed by a stray bullet because he was not involved in the earlier altercation.
“The blast of the anti-aircraft vehicle mutilated his left thigh as he was returning to the camp from where he went to charge his phone.
“The MOPOL officer could have survived the terrible assault, but nobody could take him to a medical facility as he lay in his pool of blood, bleeding profusely and bled to death.”
Another eyewitness, a woman, revealed how other police officers at the Limankara camp swiftly mobilised and protested.
She added that it took the intervention of an army major, who is the most senior officer in the location, to douse the tension.
“It was the army major that came out to beg the aggrieved MOPOL personnel. He was the one who restored order; otherwise, there would have been some sort of mayhem.
“After calming the police officers down, the major arrested the killer corporal, and thereafter, the Army Theatre Command, contacted the Borno police command.”
It is, however, not clear if the military and the police constituted a joint fact-finding committee to probe the incident. The whereabouts of the culprit is also not certain as there is no official report from the security authorities.
Meanwhile, the Borno State commissioner of police, Mohammed Ndatsu Aliyu, has said that a joint investigation by the police and the army was ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killing of a police officer, Sgt Rowland Tafida, with an anti-aircraft gun by yet to be identified army corporal.
Speaking with Journalists Friday, the level of investigation into the matter yesterday in Maiduguri, CP Aliyu said even though the late Sgt Tafida was on special operation to Borno State from another command, the Borno police command entered into the investigation because the incident occurred within its jurisdiction.
CP Aliyu added that some soldiers were already in a military detention facility in connection to the murder of Sgt Rowland Tafida.
“I will not hide anything from you, like I told you, this is a joint investigation. The military has received our report of the investigation, if they are through, they will bring their own report to us.
“We will now sit down and look at the two reports. At the end of the day, but I know, I don’t want to preempt anything, already some soldiers are in detention in connection with the case,” CP Aliyu further noted.
Corroborating CP Aliyu, a top military police officer involved in the military aspect of the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the 7 Division Military Police Unit was investigating the murder.
The source said at the end of the investigation, it would be passed to the office of the general officer commanding (GOC) 7 Division of the Nigerian Army for the next line of action.