The Nigerian Army’s 23 Brigade has dismissed allegations circulating on social media claiming its personnel opened fire on civilians during a violent communal clash in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State on Monday, December 8, 2025.
In a statement shared on its official 𝕏 account on Tuesday, the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for Sector 4 Operation Hadin Kai/23 Brigade, Captain Olusegun Abidoye, described the accusations as “false, unfounded, and deliberately misleading.”
According to the Army, contrary to online reports, neither the Brigade Commander nor his escort team was anywhere near the scene of the incident. The commander, the statement said, was attending the Chief of Army Staff’s weekly operational briefing virtually at the time the alleged shooting occurred.
The Army revealed that personnel from the 23 Brigade, the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Department of State Services (DSS) were jointly deployed after security agencies received distress reports around 1:35 a.m. about escalating violence between the Bachama and Chobo communities. The confrontation was linked to long-standing disputes over land ownership and ethnic tensions.
Upon arrival in affected areas—including Tingno, Rigange, Tito, Waduku, and Lamurde—troops reportedly came under attack from a militia group suspected to be aligned with one of the feuding communities. Soldiers responded to the assault, neutralising three gunmen. Others were later discovered dead along the group’s escape route, alongside a recovered motorcycle.
The Army also recounted that troops were dispatched to secure the Lamurde Local Government Secretariat following intelligence that it might be targeted. During the movement, a group of women briefly obstructed the path of the security team, while armed individuals were said to have fired sporadically in the area.
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The statement firmly denied claims that soldiers killed civilians, insisting that the two women later brought to the Local Government Lodge were victims of accidental shootings caused by militia members “due to their unprofessional handling of firearms.”
The 23 Brigade expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and appealed to both communities to prioritize peace and dialogue to avoid further bloodshed and destruction.
