“False, No Such Name Reported For Training” – Depot NA Zaria Reacts To Death Of Ibrahim Nazifi
Depot Nigerian Army (NA), Zaria, has dismissed as untrue media reports that one Ibrahim Nazifi lost his life within its training facility.
Reacting to the report in a communication signed and made available by Captain Chikadibia Viola Anele, Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, the training centre insisted that the information the said individual passed on during military training at the Depot “is false and falls short of the record.”
Dated January 23, 2026, the statement issued to set the record straight reads…
The attention of Depot Nigerian Army (NA), Zaria, has been drawn to a series of media reports alleging that one Ibrahim Nazifi, an indigene of Gombe State with application number 90RRI-GO-9017726, died during military training at the Depot. We wish to categorically state that this information is false and falls short of the record.
Available records at Depot NA Zaria clearly 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, he never reported to the Depot for commencement of his training and at no point was he admitted into the training programme. Consequently, the Depot has no record of his presence, participation, injury or death during training.
In view of this, Depot NA Zaria urges the Gombe State Government and relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain where, when and under what circumstances the purported deceased died, as such an incident did not occur within the Depot NA Zaria.
The Nigerian Army acknowledges that military training is rigorous and deliberately designed to build endurance, resilience and combat readiness in would-be soldiers, especially as they are prepared to face the evolving security challenges. While training environments can be demanding and in rare cases, result in casualties, this does not imply negligence. On the contrary, robust safety measures, medical coverage and risk-mitigation procedures are firmly in place to ensure maximum protection of trainees and to minimise injuries.
Members of the public are therefore urged to disregard the reports and avoid the spread of unverified information capable of misleading the public and tarnishing the image of the Nigerian Army.
Depot NA Zaria remains fully committed to professionalism, transparency and the welfare of all recruits undergoing training to serve the nation honourably.
