The Nigerian Army has dismissed
203 soldiers after a secret court martial held in the dead of the night, for
allegedly disobeying a direct order from their commanding officer
According to reports, one of the sacked soldiers, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, said the soldiers were dismissed for asking
for support equipment, following the army’s plan to convey them in a tipper for
an operation in Bama and Gwoza, two strongholds of Boko Haram insurgents.
The soldier, who is originally of the 19th
Battalion in Okitipupa in Ondo State, but attached to the 7th division in
Maiduguri, said the army detained them for over 90 days before dismissing them
after a mid-night trial. He said they are owed up to five months in unpaid
salaries.
Narrating the event that led to their dismissal,
the soldier said his unit reconvened in Maiduguri last August, after they were
dislodged by the insurgents in Damboa in an operation where their commanding
officer and several other soldiers were killed.
He said they were given two weeks pass and that at
the expiration of their pass, they were issued new uniforms, boots and 30
rounds of bullets each as opposed to the statutory 60 rounds. And were going to
be conveyed in a tipper lorry to Gwoza and Bama for an operation.
He said having engaged the insurgents in several
past battles, majority of the soldiers argued that the operation would be
fierce, and therefore, requested support equipment.
“So we asked for support weapons. No support weapon
was provided. Our Commanding Officer, CO, said he would discuss with the
General Officer Commanding, GOC, 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.
But the request made by the soldiers fetched them
more than they bargained for.
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 his 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 and went back home.”
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