Boko Haram: Military under Fire over Poor condition of Soldiers

The last few days have been very tough for the military, as critics all over have subjected the leadership to a barrage of criticism over what has been happening in the counter-insurgency operation.

It was the BBC that first came in with a report of alleged mutiny when a faceless ‘soldier’ lamented the problems the troops were allegedly facing in the war, but the military disowned the ‘soldier’.

Then came the reports that 480 troops had been arrested in Cameroun after escaped from the ‘superior’ fire power of the terrorists but again the military claimed it was a mere tactical retreat.

According to reports, the troops clashed with terrorists in the border town of Gamborou Ngala which led to a fierce fighting and this allegedly forced the troops to run to the neighbouring country.

“The Nigerian troops that were found in Cameroun was as a result of a sustained battle between the troops and the terrorists around the borders with Cameroun which saw the Nigerian troops charging through the borders in a tactical maneuver. Eventually they found themselves on Camerounian soil. Being allies the normal protocol of managing such incident demanded that the troops submit their weapons in order to assure the friendly country that they were not on a hostile mission.

“Following necessary discussions between Nigerian and Camerounian military authorities, the issues have been sorted out. Subsequently, the troops are on their way back to join their unit in Nigeria.

“The reference to the incidence as a defection is therefore not appropriate considering the discussion between the two countries’ military leadership and the series of contacts with the soldiers who have confirmed that they are safe,” the Defence Headquarters explained.

The Defence Headquarters has confirmed that troops who returned from Cameroon were today addressed by the General Officer Commanding 3 Division, Major General Zaruwa as they embark on another mission in the Counter Terrorism campaign.

According to the military, “All the soldiers are in high spirit with all their weapons and equipment intact”.

Meanwhile, according to Leadership, the All Progressives Congress has described as an unprecedented national embarrassment the increasing seizure of Nigerian towns by the terrorist group Boko Haram and the reported fleeing of 480 Nigerian soldiers to Cameroon during an attack on a military base in Gamboru-Ngala on Monday.

"There is no way to spin what happened on Monday, when 480 Nigerian soldiers escaped to Cameroon. The Ministry of Defence called it ‘tactical manoeuvre’, but did not explain how soldiers fighting insurgents along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon will foray 80 kilometres into Cameroon! Also, if the Nigerian troops’ foray into Cameroon was in the spirit of the cooperation between the two countries in the fight against the terrorists, as some spin doctors have said, why were the Nigerian soldiers disarmed and then herded into schools in Maroua, 80kms from the Nigerian border?”