Photos of a soldier, said to have been killed by a policeman at the Shehu of Borno Palace in Maiduguri has emerged.

A warrant officer of the Nigerian Army, Donatus Vonkong was reportedly shot dead by a drunk policeman on Tuesday.

Vonkong who had saved Abubakar El-Kanemi, the Shehu of Borno from a suicide bomber in 2012, was providing security for the Shehu when the policeman attached to Force Mobile Unit started misbehaving.

Eyewitnesses said the soldier who was the head security at the palace tried to intervene when the policeman shot him dead.

Speaking to Daily Trust on the incident, the Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Jimmy Akpor, said the incident did not portray inter-agency conflict, saying it is an isolated case.

“In any case, when things like this happen, it could be accidental, but there are procedures for handling such issues. It does not suggest inter-agency conflicts. This is an isolated issue, and when they do occur, the various services have mechanisms for handling them.

“And I’m very sure that Operation HADIN Kai will investigate and carry out the necessary clear mechanism to ensure that it does not happen again. The most important thing is that we guide against future occurrences.

“There are mechanisms for handling such issues, it does not in any way portray conflicts between the military and the police. After all, they are all deployed together for the overall efforts of counter-insurgency operations over there.”

Meanwhile, tributes have been pouring in on social media, with many describing the late soldier as a good man.

SEE THE SOLDIER’S PHOTOS: