The Nigerian Army has refuted claims that soldiers escorting the Commander of the 23 Brigade, Brigadier General Amechi Agwu, opened fire on protesting women in Lamurde, Yola, Adamawa State, on Monday.
Gatekeepers News reports that several reports alleged that troops shot and killed at least seven women during a demonstration in the area. One of the publications claimed:
“The tragic incident occurred Monday afternoon at Rigange junction, deepening tensions already inflamed by a violent assault earlier in the day by suspected Chobo-speaking militia, who had launched coordinated attacks on multiple communities in Lamurde Local Government Area.”
However, in a statement on Tuesday, the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, Captain Olusegun Abidoye, dismissed the accusations as false and aimed at tarnishing the military’s reputation.
“The attention of Headquarters 23 Brigade Nigerian Army has been drawn to a baseless report by Sahara Reporters and some other online media published on Monday, 8 December 2025. The said report levelled unfounded and false allegations against the Brigade and its Commander,” the statement read.
Abidoye said neither the Brigade Commander nor his escorts were present at the scene of the clash. He stated that General Agwu was attending the Chief of Army Staff’s weekly operational briefing virtually at the time of the alleged shooting.
He explained that the unrest stemmed from a land dispute between the Chobo and Bachama communities. Troops were deployed to restore normalcy when they were attacked by an armed militia.
“In the course of its operations, a militia armed group suspected of fighting for one of the warring communities — Chobo — attacked the troops. The troops, being a professional, adaptable and combat-ready force, decisively engaged the militia armed men in the fire fight. During the exchange of fire, troops neutralized 3 of the gunmen and forced other members of the militia group to flee the general area. The troops were able to put the clashes under control,” Abidoye said.
He added that troops later received a distress call that fighters were mobilising to attack the Lamurde Local Government Secretariat. When soldiers moved to secure the facility, they were prevented from entering by a group of women.
Abidoye insisted that the women who died were not shot by soldiers but by armed militias mishandling firearms.
“Without equivocation, the casualties were caused by the unprofessional handling of automatic weapons by the local militias who are not proficiently trained to handle such automatic weapons.”
