A senior non-commissioned officer of the Nigerian Army has been confirmed dead.

Headquarters 3 Division of the Army announced this in a statement on Thursday by its acting Deputy Director of Public Relations, Major Ikechukwu Eze.

The officer was said to have died on Tuesday, a few days after returning from Kogi State where he went for his father’s burial.

He was initially admitted and managed for resistant malaria at the 3 Division Hospital but there was no significant improvement.

This resulted in his referral to Bingham University Teaching Hospital (Jankwano) in Jos, the Plateau State capital for further management.

“Unfortunately, the soldier died on 15 January 2019, four days after his case was reported,” the statement said. “Available medical information confirmed that the soldier may have died of Lassa fever.”

The Division added that an investigation was ongoing to unravel all circumstances that led to the soldier’s death while some measures have been taken to contain the spread of the disease.

It said it has commenced Contact Tracing and Monitoring for both primary and secondary contacts in collaboration with representatives of World Health Organisation (WHO), medical personnel of Bingham University Teaching Hospital and 3 Division Medical Services and Hospital.

According to the statement, sensitisation for residents of Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, the host community and the general public has also begun.

“The General Officer Commanding has further directed that the entire Maxwell Khobe Cantonment be fumigated,” it added.

•Sourced from a Channels report

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