The Nigerian Army on Wednesday explained how it found the body of a missing general, Idris Alkali, after weeks of intense investigations.
Alkali, who recently retired as a major general, was declared missing several weeks ago while travelling from Abuja to Bauchi.
His body parts were found in an abandoned well in Guchwet village of Shen district, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Alkali’s corpse
Late Major-General Alkali
Although no medical test had been done to confirm if the body parts found were actually that of Mr Alkali, the army said ”its investigations confirmed it”.
A brigadier general, Umar Ibrahim, the Garrison Commander, 3 division, spoke with journalists at the scene. He said some of the suspects who participated in the killing of the general brought the army to the well.
Last week, the army had announced it located a shallow grave where the late general was initially buried before the body was exhumed and taken someplace else.
On Wednesday, a military “body bag” containing the parts of the missing general was unzipped for reporters to have a look. But no shots were allowed to be taken to preserve the victim’s dignity.
At the scene, a water pump generator was used to drain the water from the well to allow access to the body parts.
The reporter observed that there was a distance of almost 10 kilometers from where his corpse was first buried to the “no man’s land” where it was found Wednesday morning.
Ibrahim narrated how the victim’s body was found.
“You are all aware that Major General Idris Alkali was declared missing on September 3. The Nigerian Army gave us three tasks. One, to find General Alkali dead or alive; two, to find his car which is a Toyota Corolla; and three, if anything happened to him, to find who are responsible for it .
“As you are all aware, on the September 29, 2018, we were able to discover his vehicle and we saw his personal effects which confirmed that it was him. In the same vein, last week, I called you and showed you where he was buried in a shallow grave.
“We have declared some people wanted and based on that, some of them, reported to the police. Some of them, who took part in his relocation took us where he (body) was relocated.
“He was actually relocated to an abandoned well, which is behind me here. We came here this morning, we drained the water and we were able to salvage the body of General Alkali.
“This is to tell you that now the two aspects of the assignment are completed. The remaining aspect is for all those who took part in this henious act – nobody, no matter how connected the person is must not go unpunished. For those who have not submitted themselves to the police, we are on their trail. We will find them sooner or later,” the officer said.
While the body parts were being removed, soldiers on site gave a short military parade as a mark of last respect for the deceased officer.
The body was then taken into an ambulance by four generals.