A soldier deployed under Operation Udoka in Anambra State has lost his life after allegedly leaving his post without authorisation to attend a party.
The incident reportedly happened on the night of Saturday, May 18, 2025, at the Forward Operating Base in Uli.
The soldier is said to have sneaked out in full military camouflage to attend an event dubbed “Ladies’ Jamboree,” a strippers’ party held at a nearby hotel.
During a routine military operation, his absence was noticed by colleagues, prompting further investigation.
“It was during a tactical operation that it was discovered the soldier was missing. He was later found to have sneaked out of the base without permission to attend a strippers’ party at a nearby hotel, in uniform,” a security source said.
“It was there that he was accosted and fatally shot by suspected IPOB/ESN fighters. His lifeless body, along with that of a baby, was later recovered at the scene by troops.”
The soldier’s weapon was recovered and has been secured by military personnel.
Efforts to contact Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye, Director of Defence Media Operations, were unsuccessful as his mobile line was unreachable, and messages sent to him remained unanswered as of the time of this report.
This tragic death adds to the growing list of violent assaults on military personnel in the South-East, where the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its paramilitary arm, ESN, are suspected of conducting armed attacks on security forces.