The 23 Brigade of the Nigerian Army has dismissed as entirely false a report published by Sahara Reporters and other online platforms alleging that soldiers attached to the Brigade Commander opened fire on women protesters during unrest in Adamawa State.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Army described the report as baseless and misleading, insisting that neither the Brigade Commander nor his escorts were present at the scene. According to the Brigade, the Commander was attending the weekly operational briefing of the Chief of Army Staff virtually at the time of the alleged incident.
The Army clarified that it received information about renewed communal clashes between the Bachama and Chobo communities of Lamurde Local Government Area around 1:30a.m. on Monday, 8 December 2025. The violence was reportedly fuelled by longstanding land disputes and ethnic tensions between the two groups.
Combined security forces including troops from the 23 Brigade Garrison, the Nigerian Police Force, NSCDC and DSS were immediately deployed to restore calm in the affected communities of Tingno, Rigange, Tito, Waduku and Lamurde.
While responding to the crisis, troops came under attack from an armed militia suspected to be aligned with one of the warring communities. The Army stated that its personnel responded professionally, neutralizing three attackers and forcing others to retreat. Further exploitation of the area led to the discovery of five additional neutralized armed men along their withdrawal route.
Security personnel later received information that one of the groups was mobilizing to attack the Lamurde Local Government Secretariat. As troops advanced to secure the facility, a group of women blocked the road while armed men believed to be from the opposing side fired sporadically within the community.
The Army maintained that no woman was harmed by troops, noting that soldiers successfully created a path through the blockade to secure the Secretariat. According to the statement, two corpses of women were later brought to the Local Government Lodge, with community members attempting to blame their deaths on soldiers.
The Brigade stressed that the fatalities were caused by the reckless handling of automatic weapons by local militias, who lack the professional training required to operate such firearms.
Despite this, the Army expressed condolences to the families of the deceased women and appealed to both communities to embrace peace and avoid further violence.
The 23 Brigade reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining peace and supporting civil authorities, urging the public to disregard the false report.
The statement was signed by Captain Olusegun Abidoye, Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, Sector 4 Operation Hadin Kai and 23 Brigade
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