Army Denies Report Alleging Shooting of Women Protesters in Adamawa Clash

The Nigerian Army’s 23 Brigade has refuted claims published by Sahara Reporters and other online outlets alleging that soldiers shot women protesters during a communal clash in Adamawa State on Monday, 8 December 2025.

In a statement signed by Captain Olusegun Abidoye, Acting Assistant Director Army Public Relations for Sector 4 Operation Hadin Kai / 23 Brigade, the Army described the report as “baseless,” “unfounded,” and an attempt to smear the image of the Brigade, its Commander, and the Nigerian Army as a whole.

According to the statement, the Brigade Commander was not at the scene of the incident as alleged, but was participating virtually in the Chief of Army Staff’s weekly operational briefing at the time of the purported shooting.

The Army explained that troops, alongside personnel from the Nigerian Police Force, NSCDC, and DSS, responded to a communal clash between the Bachama and Chobo communities in Lamurde Local Government Area around 1:30 a.m. on 8 December. The clash reportedly stemmed from an unresolved land dispute and long-standing ethnic tensions.

Troops moved into the affected areas: Tingno, Rigange, Tito, Waduku, and Lamurde, to restore order. During the operation, the Army said a militia group suspected to be aligned with the Chobo community attacked the security forces, prompting a firefight in which three armed men were neutralised. Five additional bodies and a motorcycle were later discovered along the militia’s withdrawal route.

The statement noted that while troops were later responding to a distress call about an attempt to attack the Lamurde Local Government Secretariat, some women blocked their path. Meanwhile, armed men allegedly aligned with the Bachama community fired indiscriminately within the area. The military said it created a passage through the crowd without harming any of the women and proceeded to secure the Secretariat.

According to the Army, two corpses of women were subsequently brought to the Local Government Lodge by community members, who claimed soldiers killed the women. The Brigade firmly denied this, attributing the deaths to “unprofessional handling of automatic weapons” by local militias.

Despite rejecting the allegations, the 23 Brigade expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and urged the warring communities to embrace peace to prevent further loss of life and destruction.

The Army reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining peace in its area of responsibility and called on the public to disregard what it described as a “malicious” report.