Mistaken Identity : Counter- Insurgency Squad Kills TCN Driver, Injures 3 Others In Borno

SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, (THEWILL)  – Tragedy struck in Benesheik, a town on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, Saturday, as a counter-insurgency squad shot at a team of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) staff trying to fix some broken transmission lines in order to sort out the over six-month-old power outage in the state, killing one of the staff and injuring another.

Two soldiers who were part of the military escort attached to the TCN team also sustained gunshot wounds as they were all mistaken for Boko Haram insurgents.

Briefing journalists on the matter in Maiduguri on Sunday, a TCN staff, Ibrahim Garba, said: “The incident occurred when our staff accompanied by the military who went to repair a transmission line near Benesheik were shot at by the military personnel attached to Benesheik who thought they were insurgents.

“In the encounter, our driver was killed and three other persons injured including two soldiers.

“One of our drivers is still missing while one of our injured staff and the two other soldiers are receiving treatment at the General Hospital, while two vehicles of the TCN and that of the military were destroyed.”

This is not the first time such tragic incidents would be happening in the state, especially in Boko Haram infested areas.

Over a month ago, a mishap along Maiduguri/Damboa road claimed the lives of five soldiers who accompanied a team of TCN engineers on mission to repair power installation in the area. They were killed when their vehicles ran over a landmine planted on the road by the insurgents.

Responding to Saturday’s incident, a Maiduguri resident, Abba Aisami, said: “It was unfortunate that this could have happened, we have never heard of the insurgents mistaken themselves and engaging each other in gunshots. Why should our soldiers be making this grievous mistake?

“This is an indication that there is no proper coordination among the military, if not, how can they send a team from Maiduguri without communicating with their counterpart in Benesheik?”