ECOMIG loses Nigerian peacekeeper in Gambia

ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia (ECOMIG) Friday announced the sudden death of one of its peacekeepers, Staff Sergeant Bamidele Akinwale, of the Nigerian contingent, an official statement copied to PANA here said.

The statement, made available to The Voice and signed by force commander Colonel Flugence Ndour, said S/Sgt Akinwale, aged 45, passed on in the early hours of Friday after a suspected cardiac arrest.

The body of the late soldier is currently being kept at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital morgue for an autopsy while arrangements are made to convey the body home (Nigeria) for the necessary rites and burial in accordance with national, traditional and military customs.

ECOMIG expresses its deepest condolences to the next of kin, family, the Nigerian contingent and the Nigerian Armed Forces for this irreplaceable loss.