Army discovers shallow grave where missing General was buried

The youths who killed the retired missing Army General, Idris Alkali, on September 3, 2018, jubilated after pushing his car in a mining pond at Dura Du of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, says the General Officer Commanding, 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Benson Akinroluyo.

“The irate youths who followed his car to the abandoned mining pit filled with water on many tri-cycles popularly known as “Keke NAPEP” jubilated for reason best known to them or for mission accomplished. He was later buried in a shallow grave in an area popularly known as, ‘No man’s land’ within the community,” Generaal Benson Ahinroluyo said.

Gen. Akinroluyo sated this on Friday in Jos while giving journalists an update of the Cordon and Search Operation on the Missing Major General, Idris Alkali (retired).

Akinroluyo explained that the death of Idris Alkali was as a result of a reprisal attack which occurred as a result of 11 persons who were killed in Jos South LGA at a shopping mall on the 2nd of September 2018 by unknown gunmen.

He said: “You would recall that on 2 September 2018 at about 8:00pm, unknown gunmen attacked a shopping complex located at Lafande Community on the outskirt of Jos metropolis in Dura-Du District of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

As a result of the attack, 11 people were killed while others sustained various degrees of injuries. The attack triggered protest by the people of the area on the morning of 3 September 2018.

Irate youths in their hundreds trooped out, blocked the Eastern Bypass with stones and other dangerous objects.

The immediate past Chief of Administration (Army), Major General Idris Alkali, who recently disengaged from the Nigerian Army after 35 years meritorious service to the Nigerian Army and the country was travelling from Abuja to Bauchi via Jos same day.

The senior officer was travelling alone in his black Toyota Corolla car with registration number, KWARA MUN 670 AA.

Credible intelligence revealed that his car was stopped and he introduced himself as a general to the hoodlums who had barricaded the road that he was just passing through to Bauchi.

The senior officer was assaulted and killed. Thereafter, his belongings such as clothings, cash, phones and laptop were shared by those who killed him.

His body was dragged before being moved to somewhere else and his car was driven and pushed into the abandoned mining pit filled with water”.

The Army boss explained that while the car of the Missing General was found in the pond, the youths who perpetrated the act moved swiftly to exhume his corpse from a shallow grave where he was buried to an unknown destination, as confessed by those who were picked and interrogated.

“On 29 September 2018, when the general’s black Toyota Corolla car was recovered from the abandoned mining pit, those involved and those not involved in the killing of the senior officer held a meeting to relocate his corpse away from the community.

This is because of the inherent danger it would attract to the community. Consequently, a 10 man team was constituted to relocate his corpse earlier buried in a shallow grave within the community to elsewhere.

A specialist in preservation of corpse was contracted. The specialist assisted in exhuming his corpse from the shallow grave to elsewhere. Only few trusted members of the community knew where his corpse was relocated to.

The specialist is currently in our custody. Again, this is an attempt to cover up the heinous crime committed by the community.

There exist other evidence and indicators that pointed to the fact that those who were involved in the killing of the senior officer are being supported and backed by community leaders within the Dura-Du District.

In recent times, they have been staging press conferences and writing petitions in order to smear the image of the Division in particular and the Nigerian Army in general.

This Division will not yield to the antics or blackmail by those who have committed this dastardly crime.

Therefore, the following people at large have been declared wanted by the relevant authority based on their degree of culpability in the killing of the senior officer”, Gen. Akinroluyo said.