A Nigerian soldier shot and injured a United Nations helicopter co-pilot, killed a humanitarian worker and a fellow soldier on Thursdays.
According to a witness, the incident occurred at a military base in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria.
The Nigerian military authority confirmed in a statement that one of its members shot and injured a helicopter co-pilot from the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) in the north east, where the military is battling an Islamist insurgency.
According to the Army spokesman for the anti-insurgency operation, Samson Nantip Zhakom, the unnamed soldier went on to shoot and kill a worker from one of the organisations providing humanitarian support in the region, before turning on a fellow soldier.
“Own troops on the ground immediately neutralized the errant personnel,” said Zhakom, adding that the injured co-pilot had been stabilized at a hospital.
It was not immediately clear what prompted the attack but Zhakom said investigations were under way.
UNHAS provides transport to humanitarian workers who travel to and from Maiduguri city, the capital of Borno state, which is the epicentre of the Islamist insurgency.
A witness told Reuters that the soldier approached a UNHAS helicopter inside a military base in Damboa and opened fire at the co-pilot as he tried to escape. He then turned and fired at some humanitarian workers who wanted to board the helicopter.
The UNHAS said it had cancelled all helicopter mission to and from the field until further notice.
