Military Officer Stabs Teacher For Disciplining Student In Taraba

A newly recruited military personnel has allegedly stabbed a teacher at the Government Science Secondary School in Donga local government area of Taraba State following the latter’s application of a punitive measure against a student in the school for lateness.

The victim, Pavalis Yebduya Joshua, who also serves as the examination officer at the school, was attacked for allegedly punishing the soldier’s brother for arriving late to school.

The confrontation began on Tuesday morning when senior students were stopping latecomers. A soldier, Barau Ishaq, brought his brother, Ishaq Baraya, to the school on a motorcycle and refused to let the student be punished by the senior students. The soldier insisted that because he brought the student, no one else had the right to discipline him.

Joshua, the teacher on duty alongside the senior students, intervened, insisting on punishing the student. “I asked the young soldier if he would be happy if I refused to stop at his checkpoint. He said this is different, but I insisted on punishing the student and flogged him four times. The soldier then accused me of disrespecting him,” Joshua recounted.

Joshua further explained that the situation escalated when he told the soldier he was not his age mate and that he could have been a higher-ranking officer if he had joined the Army through Direct Short Service (DSS) after his university graduation. The soldier, angered by this, left the school but returned 20 minutes later with two friends—one a soldier and the other a civilian in Army camouflage. They chased away students and attacked Joshua with a jack-knife, leading to cuts on his palm and fingers.

“My principal ran to the police station to report the case. The police arrived and took me to the station along with the abandoned soldier. The DSS took statements, and I was taken to the hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, the culprit escaped to the Special Force camp in Akate, Donga local government area and reported the incident,” Joshua said.

The soldier later returned with a team of Special Forces, scaring students who fled into the bush, resulting in injuries and missing students. Despite being at the police station, the soldier threatened Joshua again in the presence of police officers. “He said he would stab me again and nothing would happen even in the presence of the DCO. One of the special forces recruits threatened to face me personally after the case,” Joshua added.

Joshua is appealing to the state government, the Police, the DSS, the Nigerian Army, and all concerned authorities to intervene and ensure justice is served.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Nigerian Army nor the state government has made any statement regarding the incident.