203 Nigerian soldiers have allegedly been dismissed by the
Nigerian military over allegations of disobeying a direct
order from their commanding officer to engage Boko Haram
members and demanding for support equipment. The
soldiers and their families are said to have been evicted
from the barracks after a court martial that sat on
December 24th night found them guilty of disobeying
superior authority.
Premium Times reports that one of the dismissed soldier
attached to the 7th division in Maiduguri Borno state, who
spoke on the condition of anonymity said that after the sect
members dislodged their unit in Damboa, Borno state
sometime last year, they (the soldiers) were reconvened in
Maiduguri in August to further engage in the fight against
boko haram and upon their arrival, they were they were
given two weeks pass and that at the expiration of their
pass, they were issued new uniforms, boots and handed 30
rounds of bullets each as against the 60 rounds meant to
be given to them. He said their commanding chief ordered
that they move in a tipper to continue the fight to dislodge
the sect members in Damboa but that some of the soldiers
argued that serious weapons would be needed in the fierce
battle they are expected to embark on as they have being
fighting with the sect members and known the type of
weapons they use.
“So we asked for support weapons. No support weapon was
provided. Our CO (Commanding Officer) said he would
discuss with the GOC (General Officer Commanding) of the
7 Division at the headquarters. When he came back, he said
we should stand down. We thought all was well,” our
source said.
He said the next day their new CO, Mohammed A, a
lieutenant colonel from 195 battalion, Agenebode, ordered
them to submit their weapons and uniforms or be charged
with mutiny.
“On the morning of 16 of August, after the GOC briefing, our
commander started calling our names and he said anyone
whose name is called should submit their uniform and
weapon. He added that anyone who failed to do that would
be charged for mutiny. We were surprised at what was
happening. He started from the most senior soldier among
us, a warrant officer who had served for almost 30 years.
They asked us to go back to the barrack. It is a war zone
and our weapons had been taken from us. Staying around
was of no use so we left Maiduguri back home.”
The next order from the army hierarchy was for the soldiers
to report to the 4th Brigade headquarters in Benin where
they were detained for three months.
“They kept us in the fenced field at the officers’ mess in 4th
battalion headquarters. When we first arrived at Benin they
took statements from us and took it to Maiduguri. The
original charge against us was for deserting but after our
statements were taken they changed the charge to
disobedient to particular order. They said we disobeyed the
CO’s order. They seized our phones, we couldn’t
communicate with our families for the 90 days we were
kept in detention,” our source said.
After they were released on December 24, they were
conveyed to their various units. The soldier said on getting
to their units, a court martial was set up at about 11.30
p.m. where they were tried and dismissed. He said the next
morning, they were evicted from the barrack with their
families.
“It was dismissal without benefits. After 17 years in
service. Even people that served for 30 years were
dismissed without benefits. We had no legal
representation.” the source said
The Nigerian military has not reacted to the report.
Nigerian military over allegations of disobeying a direct
order from their commanding officer to engage Boko Haram
members and demanding for support equipment. The
soldiers and their families are said to have been evicted
from the barracks after a court martial that sat on
December 24th night found them guilty of disobeying
superior authority.
Premium Times reports that one of the dismissed soldier
attached to the 7th division in Maiduguri Borno state, who
spoke on the condition of anonymity said that after the sect
members dislodged their unit in Damboa, Borno state
sometime last year, they (the soldiers) were reconvened in
Maiduguri in August to further engage in the fight against
boko haram and upon their arrival, they were they were
given two weeks pass and that at the expiration of their
pass, they were issued new uniforms, boots and handed 30
rounds of bullets each as against the 60 rounds meant to
be given to them. He said their commanding chief ordered
that they move in a tipper to continue the fight to dislodge
the sect members in Damboa but that some of the soldiers
argued that serious weapons would be needed in the fierce
battle they are expected to embark on as they have being
fighting with the sect members and known the type of
weapons they use.
“So we asked for support weapons. No support weapon was
provided. Our CO (Commanding Officer) said he would
discuss with the GOC (General Officer Commanding) of the
7 Division at the headquarters. When he came back, he said
we should stand down. We thought all was well,” our
source said.
He said the next day their new CO, Mohammed A, a
lieutenant colonel from 195 battalion, Agenebode, ordered
them to submit their weapons and uniforms or be charged
with mutiny.
“On the morning of 16 of August, after the GOC briefing, our
commander started calling our names and he said anyone
whose name is called should submit their uniform and
weapon. He added that anyone who failed to do that would
be charged for mutiny. We were surprised at what was
happening. He started from the most senior soldier among
us, a warrant officer who had served for almost 30 years.
They asked us to go back to the barrack. It is a war zone
and our weapons had been taken from us. Staying around
was of no use so we left Maiduguri back home.”
The next order from the army hierarchy was for the soldiers
to report to the 4th Brigade headquarters in Benin where
they were detained for three months.
“They kept us in the fenced field at the officers’ mess in 4th
battalion headquarters. When we first arrived at Benin they
took statements from us and took it to Maiduguri. The
original charge against us was for deserting but after our
statements were taken they changed the charge to
disobedient to particular order. They said we disobeyed the
CO’s order. They seized our phones, we couldn’t
communicate with our families for the 90 days we were
kept in detention,” our source said.
After they were released on December 24, they were
conveyed to their various units. The soldier said on getting
to their units, a court martial was set up at about 11.30
p.m. where they were tried and dismissed. He said the next
morning, they were evicted from the barrack with their
families.
“It was dismissal without benefits. After 17 years in
service. Even people that served for 30 years were
dismissed without benefits. We had no legal
representation.” the source said
The Nigerian military has not reacted to the report.
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