‘Drunk’ Soldier Kills Nigerian Army General

The incident happened at about 10:30p.m Tuesday as Brigadier General James was walking to his residence inside the NAFRC barracks in Abuja

The Director of Finance of the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC) and one of the finest officers in the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General O.A. James, is dead.

The top army officer died Tuesday night from injuries he suffered after a corporal, Abayomi Ebun, believed to be drunk, hit him with a car, those familiar with the matter told PREMIUM TIMES.

The incident happened at about 10:30p.m Tuesday as Brigadier General James was walking to his residence inside the NAFRC barracks in Lagos.

“The general was trekking to his apartment inside the Barracks when he was hit and knocked down by the drunk soldier,” one of our sources said. “The soldier also resides inside the barracks and was seen driving recklessly before hitting the senior officer.”

Naturenex learnt the General was rushed to the NAFRC Medical Centre after the incident where he was confirmed dead.

The army corporal has since been arrested and is being detained by NAFRC provost marshals investigating the matter.

The Nigerian Army is yet to comment on the incident. The spokesperson to the Force, Onyema Nwachukwu, a brigadier general, did not answer and is yet to return calls seeking comments.

Until his death, Brigadier General James was a senior member of the Nigerian Army Finance Corps. He had bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Accounting as well as a Master of Business Administration in Finance.

He was a fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and held memberships of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Nigerian Institute of Directors (MIoD), Chartered Institute of Taxation (ACTI), and the National Institute (mni).

He was decorated with the Meritorious Service Star (MSS) and Pass Staff College (PSC).

The Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre where Brigadier General James served until his death is a Tri-service institution saddled with the training of military personnel in one vocation or the other before retiring into civil life.

The objective of the Centre, the defence headquarters says, is to assist retiring military personnel in settling into civil life with ease. At inception, the centre was known as the Nigerian Army Resettlement Centre. A change of name became necessary after other sister military services became involved in its operations and services.