The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Army

  • Army to fight Boko Haram with Civilian JTF recruits

    Army to fight Boko Haram with Civilian JTF recruits

    Troops deployed in bid to rescue minister’s relations

    The Presidency is weighing options on how to increase the number of troops in the troubled Northeast.

    A top military source, who spoke in confidence, said the depletion of troops nationwide, as a result of security challenges in at least 30 states, made the measure necessary.

    He said it had become “urgent to beef up troops” in the Northeast.

    The highly-placed source said: “From all indications, the Presidency may soon consider recruiting qualified, competent, courageous members of Civilian JTF into special security forces to be well-trained and equipped in the war on terror.

    “Rather than arming the volunteer groups who are proving their worth and staking their lives to protect their communities with mere sticks and knives against Boko Haram terrorists, the system is considering proposals from security and military experts who believe recruitment of qualified youths may be the best option against creating militias that could be problems in future.

    “Background checks, antecedents and past exploits and contributions of individual volunteers will be taken into consideration to avoid recruiting those with evil and criminal intents into the specialised forces.

    “Other considerations include the fact that such local volunteers understand the terrain of such environment and politics of the insurgents.”

    Another source said: “It has also been discovered  that if members of the CJTF are adequately trained and equipped, they could dare the terrorists in the held communities.

    “They had in the past with bare hands arrested Boko Haram kingpins and handed them over to security personnel.

    “A lot of members of the CJTF have been killed by terrorists because they are not armed and trained in counter-insurgency operations.”

    In videos released by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, he had continued to warn CJTF against supporting the military. He had also shown the execution or slaughtering of captured CJTF members in his videos.

    “Many have also called for the recruitment of courageous and qualified young Nigerians who are passionate to build career in the military rather than the jobless ones who join the military only to engage in acts of indiscipline, desertion and mutiny at a critical period of national life,” the source said.

    The recruits are to be trained in the use of arms and basic ethics of rules of engagement, among others, before deployment.

    Another source spokes of how troops had been depleted, no thanks to increasing security challenges nationwide. “It takes three to four years to train well-qualified troops. The nation cannot afford the luxury of waiting for some years to train troops while leaving security challenges unattended to,” the source said.

    Troopswere yesterday deployed in the Adamawa State home town of Youth Development Minister Mr. Boni Haruna to rescue his trapped relations and others at the mercy of the Boko Haram.

    The insurgents have in the last 24 hours seized the minister’s Kuburshosho hometown in Michika Local Government Area.

    Besides vandalising the minister’s house, the rampaging insurgents also looted many homes and shops before setting them ablaze.

    It was gathered that while some of the indigenes escaped, many got trapped.

    Among those trapped are relatives of the minister who could not be located as at press time.

    A source said: “Troops have been deployed in Kuburshosho to rescue the relatives of the Minister and other indigenes of the town.

    “The troops were ordered to flush out the insurgents from the area and Garta, which was also overrun by the sect.

    “So, the battle to liberate the minister’s town is ongoing.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “The sect made spirited efforts to capture Kamale but River Kamale which overflew its bank, naturally repelled them.”

    More than 10,000 people from Michika Local Government Area are presently seeking refuge in Yola.

  • Army, DSS, police chiefs sued over N6.5m ‘theft’

    The Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to direct the Chief of Army Staff, Director of the Drectorate of Security Service (DSS) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to probe and identify members of a joint patrol team that allegedly robbed two businessmen of about N6.5million in Abuja on September 13.

    The request is contained in a fundamental rights enforcement application marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/676/2014 filed last Wednesday for the victims – Abubakar Musa and Ajube Kumshe – by their lawyer, Kalouma Umar.

    The applicants, who are seeking N15million damages against the respondents, also want the court to order the Director, SSS to refund the N6.5m allegedly stolen from them by the joint patrol team made of mainly of men of the SSS, the police and army. Respondents in the suit include the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Chief of Army Staff, Director, SSS, the IGP and Ebonith Hotel, Lugbe, Abuja.

    Musa, who described himself as a metallurgist, said he had travelled, with Kumshe on a car from their base in Jos to Abuja on September 12 to conduct some business transactions the next day. He said he withdrew the N6.5million from his account in the Suleja (Niger State) branch of Ecobank on September 12 for the business transactions.

    He averred, in a supporting affidavit, that after withdrawing the money and visiting some of his police friends, they lodged in the Ebonith Hotel, Lugbe, Abuja preparatory to their business transactions the next day.

    Musa stated that about 1.30 am on September 13, “a joint team of security operatives comprising men of the Nigerian Army, the SSS and the Nigeria Police Force” stormed the hotel searched their rooms and confiscated the N6.5million he had withdrawn and kept  with him for the next day’s business transactions.

    “They arrested us and took us out of the room together with the money to the reception of the 5th respondent (the hotel). They counted the money and confirmed the amount of the money as N6.5million. They took us to the Lugbe Police Station and detained us for three hours for interrogation, without informing us about the offence we committed,” Musa said.

    He further stated that they were released about five hours later, but that they changed their plans and decided to return to Jos. He said on their way back to Jos,  their car was ambushed along Keffi-Abuja Road by the same joint patrol team, led by one Sadiq.

    Musa stated that the security men later robbed them at gun point, taking away the N6.5m kept in his car boot, N100,000 found in his pocket and N57,000 found with his co-traveller, Kumshe.

    “He (Sadiq) informed me that they were tracking all my phone calls  and had put me on surveillance for long, and that there is no way I can escape from them. When I asked him (Sadiq) what offence I committed, he hit me with his pistol and ordered me to enter into a nearby bush,” Musa said.

    He added that, while the team was leading them into a nearby bus, they heard the noise of an approaching siren and hurriedly abandoned them, but went away with their (applicants’) money.

    Musa, who accused the 2nd to 3rd respondents (Army, SSS and Police authorities) of not responding to his letters seeking investigation of the case, said he could identify members of the patrol team, particularly Sadiq, if they were paraded before him.

    The applicants, who also want the court to order the 3rd respondent (SSS) to refund the N6.5million, are seeking to restrain the respondents from arresting and detaining them. They also urged the court to declare their detention at the Lugbe Police Station as illegal and an abuse of their fundamental rights.

    No date is set for the case’s hearing, and the respondents are yet to file their responses.

  • Hey, death sentence for attempted murder? Come now…!

    Life is too short to go seeking some heavy redress for attempted things. Nearly, they say, does not kill a bird; no one goes home to cook a bird he nearly killed. The army must be merciful

    Formerly, first of all, if anyone made any attempt on my life, I would certainly want the state to take action! I would not even want the state to ask questions or legalise the issue. I would ask and plead that the person be incinerated just to convince him that my life is not worth the trouble of getting his hands dirty. I know; by the time he finds out, he will be slightly dead. However, when I read of the sentence passed last week by a Nigerian military tribunal on the twelve soldiers who mutinied in the north eastern part of the country and all the events that led up to it, I sort of had a rethink. Hold on a bit, I’ll tell you my rethink later.

    Secondly, I gathered from many knowing ones that military codes are a little less forgiving than civilian ones. According to the military books, the code of discipline endorsed by all recruits demands that any and every act of rebellion will be regarded as a threatening force of corruption which will be countered by the more superior force of cleansing. In other words, the books will be hurled at the individual, without giving any quarter. Have you ever had a book thrown at you, literally? No joke, I assure you. It is no less painful metaphorically. I understand the army does this to ensure that everyone within the file and rank has enough discipline not to make him turn his gun on his neighbor for sneezing at him from behind.

    Moreover, I have been a major supporter of the Nigerian army. I have written before that I have great faith in it even though there are times I cannot make head or tail of its actions. For example, I believe the army could have routed the ragtag army of the boko haram in its early days but for the fact that something went horribly wrong: it became an avenue for a few up there to milk the country. So, by this default, we still have boko haram with us today, and by some other default action or inaction, some soldiers are even now fighting for their lives in more ways than one.

    These facts, nevertheless, have not stopped the outpouring of outrage against that death sentence since it was given, and for good reason too. Many people are in consternation, given that the war against the boko haram has not been won and yet here we are playing around with soldiers on the drawing board: place some in the war front, some to guard some frolicking politicians, some to face the firing squad… All hands needed in that war, which appears to be shifting grounds and tactics daily, have not quite been gathered together. To now put to death some able bodied fighters for snapping at their commanding officer with their gun is, to put it a little humanely, not quite the thing to do.

    True, it is disobedience. It is mutiny. In any language, disobedience and mutiny should not be tolerated. I hate it when my dog disobeys me. However, there are many things the army needs to take into consideration, for the sake of fairness, and commute that death sentence into something less grave-like. As the saying goes, come now, and let us reason together on this…

    To begin with, we must remember that it is only in Nigeria that everything is different. For instance, Nigeria is at a real war right now, yet Nigerian soldiers are used to guard politicians who are not in any more danger than the rest of the citizens, except maybe by their insouciant pilfering! Under what circumstances should any sane military authority authorize that? Frankly speaking, it is the most spectacular and bewildering fact I have ever heard regarding the armed forces. So, I want to tender that the military authorities opened the door of other worldliness, inordinate gains and personal profits by renting soldiers to guard politicians; the soldiers are only now marching through that door.

    It is only natural that soldiers guarding politicians would have been introduced to a lifestyle that is most antithetical to the Spartan requirements of military life. Once this kind of room has been given in the armed forces, it is only natural that other kinds of ‘rooms’ would follow. Whichever soldier, including those at the war front, has not been so favoured would want compensation wherever he finds himself. To thus be denied such compensation is to court righteous anger.

    In this instance, that righteous anger frothed even more by the information that many of the allowances of the soldiers were not being made readily available to them. In short, they suspected that some ones were playing around with those allowances while they were away defending the sanctity of the nation. I mean, fair is only fair in any language. The universal law is that a labourer is worthy of his hire, even more so if he happens to be a soldier defending his country. But there’s worse.

    Reader, let us both imagine ourselves on ground at the time of occurrence of the event. Here were soldiers, we are told, who would prepare to go to battle with the few gears the country allowed them and their battle plans as well. But what would they find? Their ancient kits highly insufficient compared to the enemies’ ultra-sophisticated and modern kits (betrayed by the country) and their plans already known to the enemy who would be waiting for them in an ambush (betrayed by their leaders). I ask you, how many betrayals can a man take in one circumstance?

    Now, there are rumours that the said GOC who was at the centre of the debacle has been retired, transferred or dismissed, we don’t know which and it hardly matters. There are two things to note here. One is that it means he, the target of the attempted murder, did not die, was not injured and is hale. I am not a lawyer but I do believe there is no law in the world that sentences a man to death for attempted murder. Besides, there is no sign the murder would not have taken place if they had meant to do that. In other words, it is probable that they never meant to commit murder. Now, who on earth dares refuse me my law degree?

    The second important thing is that the authorities took a step which signals an acknowledgement and an admission of a few things but it is not up to me to tell you what those are. In my book, two plus two nearly always makes four, so find your own four. So, let’s face it, the nerves of these young people were raw, what with unpaid allowances, betrayal at all fronts and the corpses of their colleagues being returned to them daily with some discourteous ‘With love from the boko haram’ notes! In their place, what would you do; what would you do?

    I am hoping, as many Nigerians are, that the army authorities would look at the extenuating circumstances surrounding the mutiny of the soldiers and commute the death sentence into something less scary. It would appear to me that someone was, or some ones were, testing the faith of these soldiers.

    That brings me to my rethink. Life is too short to go seeking some heavy redress for attempted things. Nearly, they say, does not kill a bird; no one goes home to cook a bird he nearly killed. By the same token, no one should be killed for something he nearly did. As Portia said in The Merchant of Venice, the army must be merciful.

  • Gunmen attack Bauchi army camp, kill commander

    Unknown gunmen on Thursday morning attacked an Army camp manned by six armed soldiers at Wunti -Dada, Bauchi State.

    One of the soldiers, a sergeant, who was also the commander of the camp was killed, while one other army personnel was shot on the leg.

    The Nation gathered that one of the attackers was also killed, but others escaped with gun shot wounds.

    The attack occurred at about 5:20am, few minutes after the Muslim first prayer of the day.

    A source told our correspondent, “I was afraid and did not get very close to the camp,but I think some soldiers were wounded in the attack.”

    The spokesman of the Bauchi State Police Command, Haruna Mohammed, referred our correspondent to the Army authorities when he was contacted on the incident.

  • Rights violation: Court penalises Nigerian Army, two officials

    The Nigerian Army (NA) and two of its officials have been penalised by a Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State for unjustly detaining a man, Samson Owonla for about two months without presenting before the police or court for information.

    Justice Phoebe Ayua, in a judgment in a fundamental rights enforcement suit marked: FHC/LKJ/CS/02/2014 instituted by Owonola, deprecated the conduct of the Commander, Headquarters Command, Army Records, Chari Maigumeri Barracks, Lokoja, Maj.-Gen Alphonsus Chukwu and Warrant Officer Two, S. A. Ndaji ( sued with the NA) in detaining the applicant for an unspecified crime.

    Ndaji, according to court documents, had engaged the applicant to “wire his house at Otokiti New Layout, behind Mammy Market, Lokoja,” which he did and was paid for his services. Few days later, the house was burgled and the wires stolen.

    The soldier, suspecting that Owonola was behind the theft, led a group of soldiers to arrest him on November 7, last year and had Owonola held in a cell in the Chari Maigumeri Barracks, with a condition that he would only regain freedom should he pay N48,000 being the cost of the stolen wire and what he was paid for installing the wire.

    The respondents held on to the applicant despite letters from his lawyer, Lawrence John and the state’s Police Commissioner, requesting that he either be released to the police or taken before the court. The applicant, who said he was tortured and subjected to degrading treatment while in detention, stated that he was only released by the respondents on January 10 upon being served with court processes.

    The respondents, represented by A. U Olubiyi did not deny detaining the applicant. They claimed to have detained him with the intention of eventually handing him to the police, which has the constitutional power to prosecute for criminal offences.

    They denied any wrong doing, but were unable to establish that, beyond mere suspicion, the applicant stole the wire. They were also unable to state the offence the applicant committed.

    Justice Ayua held that by their conduct, the respondents violated the applicant’s fundamental rights as provided under sessions 34(1), 35(1), (4), (5)(a) and 41 of the Constitution and Articles 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights Act.

    “It is the finding of this court, and as deposed in the affidavit in support of this application and also admitted by the respondents in paragraph 4 of their counter affidavit, that the applicant was detained by the respondents in their cell at Army Records, Chari Maigumeri barracks, Lokoja from November 7, 2013 to January 10, 2014 without bringing him to court,” the judge held.

    Justice Ayua further held that even though the respondents could arrest the applicant, they lacked the power to have him detained for over two months. He also held that the respondents failed to adduce any reason to establish the legality of their arrest and detention of the applicant.

    “In my considered opinion therefore, the respondents have failed to show any reasonable grounds for suspecting that the applicant was involved in the alleged criminal offence.

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Army’ of beggars invades Ibadan

    ‘Army’ of beggars invades Ibadan

    An unusually large number of beggars have descended on Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, causing all sorts of problems for the residents amidst efforts by the state government to rid the city of their menace. TAYO JOHNSON reports. 

    Residents of Ibadan in Oyo State have been having an unusual kind of ‘headache’ for some time now, no thanks to the invasion of their beloved city by a large number of beggars seeking economic sustenance.

    Major roads and strategic road junctions in the ancient city have been taken over by these ‘army’ of beggars who could also be seen lurking around major motor parks and markets across the metropolis.

    From Mokola Roundabout in the city centre via Sabo through Jemibewon Road to Molete, Beere junction, down to Oje Market, Agodi-Gate Bus stop, Iwo Road Roundabout, Old Ife Road and up north around Ojoo Motor park, a long queue of old men and women some dressed in tattered clothes with begging bowls or polythene bags in hands could be seen here and there waiting for good spirited people to gift them any amount of money.

    And moving around in twos and threes in between slow moving traffic in the city could also be found young children sent out by their parents or guardian to solicit for alms from motorists and even pedestrians. Seated somewhere not too far away from the kid beggars are their adult counterparts waiting for them to bring ‘returns’.

    All over the place the city seems to have been taken over by the beggars who are almost becoming a permanent feature of the society that nobody seems to take notice of them anymore save for those who want to give them alms sometimes for religious purpose.

    Though the beggars are mostly from the northern part of the country and across the border in Chad and Niger Republics, a few of them also come from some neighbouring states in the southwest.

    Homeless, poor, hungry and almost totally illiterate, these beggars some of them physically challenged were drawn to Ibadan by the prospect of being able to make ends meet in a city, the stature of the Oyo State capital, in the absence of any viable economic venture back home where they come from. But their presence is becoming an embarrassment to the residents.

    A beggar along Jemibewon Road, Bashir Mohammed, a father of eight children, told The Nation that begging is the only way he could take care of his large family because nobody gives him and his family food.

    The alarming and embarrassing trend becomes more worrisome when it is discovered that some of these beggars have no business begging because they seem physically capable of doing menial jobs to eke out a living.

    Though poverty and unemployment have been identified as the driving force behind this culture of begging, the ‘business’ seems to have become so lucrative that some like the aforementioned Bashir Mohammed have turned it into a ‘job’.

    But another beggar, Sule Mohammed, who does his business around Agodi Gate Bus-stop said the job is degrading. He told The Nation:”ýI never planned or dreamed to being a beggar, even once in my life, but I don’t have a choice because I have to survive. Being a beggar is an unfortunate life experience. God knows I tried every effort to avoid this condition I have found myself now. But, who would give a chance to a man who could not even read or write his name? If ever there are, I never met one. I thought the city would be the best place for me and my family to live in. We left far away Dutse (Jigawa State capital) where we once lived to come down here to survive in this city.

    “Many Nigerians probably think that my `job’ is the easiest job on earth. If that would be the case then I have to be the richest “dying man”. Well, they should hear me now. Begging is the most degrading and painful work anyone could ever have”.

    Degrading or not, the Oyo State government seems poised to rid the metropolis of the menace of the beggars. Recently, the Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on People with Disability, Prince Paul Adelabu declared street begging in any part of the state as an offence with immediate effect, replacing it with the introduction of a social scheme that would be established to feed and cater for the beggars in a centre to be established.

    He said that no indigene of the state is among the beggars, adding that people from other neighbouring states and tribes are the ones littering the streets, constituting the nuisance.

    “There is no religion that tells us to go out and beg, henceforth street begging is prohibited in all the 33 local government areas of Oyo State, any beggar found begging on the street will be arrested and returned back to their various states.

    “This will also ensure that the practice which allows children of school age to go about begging in the streets in the name of Almajiri is stopped” said he

    A social welfare officer in Ibadan, Mr Kehinde Ayinla noted that street begging is not only perpetrated by hopeless, sick or physically challenged people, stressing that strong and agile people do beg too.

    According to him “if you go to government ministries, departments and agencies, you will see able bodied men going from office to office begging for money. Some ladies too indulge themselves in the act of begging, some will hold little babies and tell one lie or the other to beg for money, while others hire children to beg and return them later in the day.”

    The Nation checks round the city revealed that some parents actively encourage their children to go about begging on behalf of the family blaming it on poverty, a situation a Civil Servant Mr Muyiwa Ogundoyin described as irresponsible parenting.

    Much as poverty has been identified as the major cause of street begging in Nigeria, many who spoke with The Nation believe that there was need for government at all levels to eradicate poverty to the barest minimum to reduce the number of beggars on the street. They say government should provide jobs for people so that they in turn can take care of their families while also strengthening social welfare programmes for destitute and the physically challenged.

    While some are quick to blame a particular religion for the menace of street begging, the National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Organisation, Abdul-Quadir Abdul-Rafi said “even Allah discourages begging”, noting that the hands that gives rather than collects is blessed according to Islam.

    “Anybody that begs has thrown away his dignity and morals. The government needs to clear them off the street in no time, and provide them with enabling social amenities” he said

    Abdul-Rafi urged the state government to create a rehabilitation centre for the beggars.

    In the opinion of the Presiding Pastor of a Pentecostal Church in Ibadan, Moses Ayanleke begging portrayed that a country is poor and lacking in human resource management.

    He said that if the roads and streets were rid of beggars, it would save the image of the state.

    A leader of the Catholic Women’s Organisation, Mrs Patricia Chukwu on her part called for the urgent need to take away the beggars from the street of Ibadan. She is worried that visitors arriving in Ibadan could have a negative impression of the Oyo State capital on sighting a battalion of beggars on the roads. She held firmly that there should be a stop to loitering of beggars in Ibadan and urged the state government to take necessary steps to ensure that this was done.

    “Street begging in our society today is like cancer in the body. Either we sacrifice the affected part and save the body or we allow it to invade and destroy the entire body. We either summon enough courage or will to break its neck and finish it once and for all, or we allow it to remain a nuisance and an obnoxious part of our culture and tradition till the end of time.” She noted

  • Boko Haram: Army intensifies safety measures

    Boko Haram: Army intensifies safety measures

    Subsequent to rumours making the rounds that members of Boko Haram sect are planning to bomb another venue in Abuja, the military has intensified their efforts; searching every vehicle no matter how highly placed the owner may be.

    Major entries into and exits from Abuja are now under serious security watch in a bid to prevent probable bomb blasts.

    Our correspondent who observed the development said government, according to sources, is not leaving anything to chance as it is determined to fish out perpetrators of crimes, especially members of the Boko Haram sect.

    A source said the stop-and-search exercise will continue until situations are normal.

    Those in charge of motor parks around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have also put in place more security measures to forestall possible bomb blast.

    Meanwhile, the Federal Government has declared that it has the will, the resources and the strategies to win the war against Boko Haram and terrorism in the country.

    Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke-Akinjide told the women and youths who had staged a three-day protest against Boko Haram and terrorism at the Unity Fountain, Abuja to mark the 100 days of the abduction of over 200 girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State on April 15.

    According to her, the Federal Government has procured new equipment and technology towards strengthening the capability and support for Nigerian military and security forces, adding that a recent delivery of such military equipment include highly sophisticated fighter helicopters with in-built night vision technology.

    She said the Federal Government has a clear edge in weapons and reconnaissance capabilities.

    According to her, major breakthroughs recorded by the Nigerian military in the war against Boko Haram and terrorism include the capturing of many senior-level Boko Haram commanders who were used as spies and treasury officials by the Nigerian military and security operatives.

    She listed other achievements to include the arrest of Sadiq Aminu Ogwuche, one of the masterminds of the April 14, 2014 bombing of the bus station in Nyanya, an Abuja suburb, where several people were killed and others injured.

    Ogwuche, who was also accused of leading recruitment efforts of Boko Haram, was recently extradited from Sudan where he ran to and is now in Nigerian custody preparatory to facing prosecution.

    She also recalled that Boko Haram Chief of Intelligence was picked up and is now helping security operatives in their investigation while one Mohammed Zakari, a Boko Haram leader known as the ‘Chief Butcher’ was captured when Nigerian military raided Balmo Forest, during which they expelled Boko Haram insurgents from the area.

    Mrs. Akinjide further revealed that a recent Boko Haram threat against the Abuja Transportation System was uncovered while the public was alerted and casualties were avoided. Equally, following a tip-off, the police uncovered and prevented a bomb attack near a school in Gombe.

    The minister said government recognises that soft power was crucial in the battle against Boko Haram, stressing that force alone will not defeat insurgency.

    “As a result, the Jonathan administration is implementing a comprehensive programme of assistance to support, protect and empower local communities with a special focus on the most vulnerable areas of the country.”

    She noted that some of the initiatives in this regard include the Safe Schools Initiative developed to safeguard school children in states under emergency rule, by strengthening the security of educational facilities, adding that government is working with state governors, community leaders, teachers and parents to identify and remedy the vulnerabilities that put Nigerian children at risk.

    On the role of diplomacy, she said the Federal Government has been able to garner support from international partners, including governments and groups, particularly the international bring back our girls campaign that has successfully motivated global attention to terror in the West African sub-region.

    Olajumoke added that President Jonathan has initiated a number of strategies, which have generated international solidarity such as a meeting of Presidents of Chad, Cameroun, Niger Republic and Benin Republic, which was held in Paris.

    Closely related to that, she said, was the principled step taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on terrorism and cross-border crime, at its 45th ordinary session, where the authority of ECOWAS Heads of State endorsed the efforts of Nigeria and committed itself to helping the country in its fight against terror.

     

     

  • I’m a wartime Army Chief, says Minimah

    I’m a wartime Army Chief, says Minimah

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah, has  said he is a war time chief whose major focus is to put an end to the menace of Boko Haram.

    Minimah, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend while addressing troops at Ojo, Topo and Ibereko Barracks, said  the welfare of troops deployed in various operations have remained top priority.

    He said aside paying operational allowances of troops upfront, the army has ensured that soldiers wounded in battle get the best medical treatment either at army hospitals or abroad as the case may be.

    “As an infantry General, all I know is to plan for and fight war. And in doing this, we have made sure that our troops are taken care of.

    “As I talk to you, troops operational allowance for the month of August are being paid and that is how it has always been.

    “It is only the Nigerian Army that pays operational allowances upfront. We paid that of July in June, and we have also made efforts to upgrade medical facilities at the 7 Division to carter for soldiers wounded-in-action.

    “For those whose cases cannot be handled at the 7 Division, we took them to 45 Reference Hospital, Kaduna.

    “Seven casualties, whose situation could not be handled back home are currently being treated in India and Germany. And we will continue to do our best within our resources to take care of troops,” he said.

    Minimah went on:   “When I became the Chief of Army Staff, there was a proposal on my table about the increase in school fees for all army schools across the country. But I looked at it and considered that soldiers would be stressed with this increment and so I dropped the idea.”

    Lt-Gen. Minimah cautioned officers and men of the army against the use of the social media to spread falsehood, particularly as regards the prosecution of the  war against terrorists, as well as exposing the strength and perceived weaknesses of the service.

    He said: “One trend that is also dangerous to the service we all cherish is the misuse of the social media. I urge you to be careful of social media. Those of you that like to use facebook, twitter, and other social media to report the army as if you are not in the army. What you do not know is that you have been undoing the systems that you are part of.

    “You can tweet on social issues. Do not tweet about our locations, equipment, weapons and ammunition. What has that got to do with you. I hope you have not come to undo the system before you enlist. I urge you to desist from reporting the army.”

  • Army chief on why military can’t stop Boko Haram

    Army chief on why military can’t stop Boko Haram

    The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen. Kenneth Minimah  said yesterday that the military has not been able to quell Boko Haram insurgency because military personnel were not trained to fight unconventional war like Boko Haram.

    Minimah spoke at the 9 Brigade, Ikeja Cantonment. He was addressing a troop of 280 soldiers as part of his ongoing familiarisation tour.

    He said that while military personnel were trained to fight known enemies from opposing camps, Boko Haram members are enemies within, whose singular mission is to die, not fight.

    “Boko Haram terrorists come to die not fight. It is a new warfare which military personnel are not trained in. They carry explosives to blow up anyone around. They load hilux with bombs and run into troops with them.

    “It is not a conventional war. You do not see nor know the enemy you are fighting. It is an enemy within war in which case a mother is loyal to the government, child to Boko Haram while the father sits on the fence.

    “But we are on top of the situation and God willing, we will defeat them soon,” he said.

    Lt Gen. Minimah disclosed that a mass burial has been approved for soldiers who died in the course of operations in the northeast, just as he urged the troops to call and encourage their colleagues fighting the terrorists.

    He disclosed that medicare for wounded persons has improved, adding that the materials to be used for the new uniforms and camouflage, which would be ready this year, would be produced in Nigeria to ensure uniformity.

    “We are making uniform materials in Nigeria because we no longer want a situation whereby your uniforms will have different colours or people wearing different boots.

    “Also, by doing that, we will be creating employment and ensuring efficiency,” he said.

    The army chief, who reiterated the need for personnel to respect the rule of law, also directed that seniority especially at the junior leadership cadre must be reignited.

    On army personnel who do not dress properly in their full military regalia, Minimah said they shall not be spared when caught.

    “Do not smear army’s image. Dress fully in the army uniform. Do not mix military regalia with civilian clothes. There is no hybrid of the two, so that when the need arise, you would be properly identified.

    “The soldier in Lagos, which led to the BRT issue, was not properly dressed.  I know we have a few bad eggs and we would rid ourselves of them. Try as much as possible to keep off the BRT lanes, if possible, leave your homes early enough. Being a soldier does not put you above the law of the state or federal government.”

    Responding to a request by a soldier that children of army personnel should be given automatic entry into the force and not treated at par with those of civilians, Minimah said the army should not be exclusive preserve of children of service personnel.

    “We will strive to improve our system. I share in the feeling that our children should be encouraged to come into the force, but there should be equal opportunity with children of civilians who want to serve their fatherland,” he said.

  • Army embarks on firing accuracy test

    THE 3 Armored Division of the Nigerian Army said it will embark on firing test of its officers to ascertain their level of accuracy in weapon firing and handling from tomorrow.

    The two-day exercise is meant to test their officers on their dexterity in handling weapons.

    A statement by the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations from the Maxwell Khobe cantonment, Colonel Texas Chukwu, said: “The exercise involves shooting of guns and is meant for soldiers of the 43 Division undergoing basic engineering course for 2014.”

    According to him: “The two-day shooting exercise, which will start from Monday 21st July at the 3 Division Military Shooting Range Miango in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, is part of the course programme for week 6 which is meant to test soldiers ability on weapon handling and accuracy in firing.

    “The exercise will also involve the use of explosives as well as other accessories expected to generate sound.”

    Chukwu added: “Members of the general public in Plateau state especially residents of Miango, Jebu Bassa, Rukuba, Fulani cattle rearers, farmers and other communities within the range to be aware and avoid panic during the exercise.

    “There will also be sporadic or mass movement of personnel vehicles and equipment during the exercise.”