The lethal shootings supposedly occurred after the vigilantes wanted to check a lorry in which the soldiers were carrying arms to their barracks.A fuming member of the vigilante group told Sahara Reporters that the struggle began when some of their members stopped a convoy of the 7th Division of the Nigerian army, which has its headquarters in Maiduguri.
The soldiers were allegedly escorting ammunition in a private commercial trailer.
“We were asked to block most of the major roads within the town as a security precaution against any attack that might be planned during the visit of the APC presidential candidate, retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari,” the vigilante worker said.Buhari had campaigned in Maiduguri yesterday.The witness added: “Five of our members were shot dead and several others received serious injuries. This is not acceptable that soldiers should kill our members. After all, we are all working to safeguard the lives of citizenry.”The soldiers had apparently rejected the vigilantes’ request to inspect a trailer that was conveying arms. Then the soldiers opened fire when some of the vigilante youths climbed on the vehicle to check its cargo.A senior military officer in Maiduguri said he had yet to be informed about what happened, but said that an investigation was ongoing. He added that any soldiers found to have unlawfully shot civilians would be punished.According to the security source, the army had contracted a trailer to transport some ammunition when the initial army vehicle transporting the weapons developed a mechanical failure on the road.
