The Nigerian Army has refuted reports claiming that a Gombe State native, Ibrahim Nazifi, died while undergoing training at the Depot Nigerian Army in Zaria, describing the reports as inaccurate and misleading.
In a statement issued by the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations at Depot NA Zaria, Captain Chikadibia Viola Anele, the Army explained that although Nazifi was selected for training, he never presented himself at the depot.
The clarification was shared on Saturday via the Defence Headquarters’ official X account.
According to the Army, available records show that “Ibrahim Nazifi successfully passed the State Recruitment Screening Exercise conducted in December 2025 and was subsequently shortlisted for training in Depot Zaria.”
However, the statement stressed that he “never reported to the Depot for commencement of his training and at no point was he admitted into the training programme.”
The Army further noted that, as a result, the Depot has “no record of his presence, participation, injury or death during training,” insisting that no such incident occurred within its facility.
The statement urged the Gombe State Government and other relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the reported death.
It advised them to ascertain “where, when and under what circumstances the purported deceased died,” since the alleged incident did not take place at Depot NA Zaria.
While acknowledging that military training is rigorous, the Nigerian Army emphasised that demanding training conditions should not be misconstrued as negligence.
“Military training is deliberately designed to build endurance, resilience and combat readiness,” the statement said, adding that although casualties may occur in rare cases, “robust safety measures, medical coverage and risk-mitigation procedures are firmly in place to ensure maximum protection of trainees.”
The Army therefore called on members of the public to disregard the reports and refrain from spreading unverified information capable of misleading the public and damaging the image of the Nigerian Army.
