have been recalled and are currently being screened at the Jaji military cantonment in
Kaduna State, our correspondent gathered yesterday.
While some soldiers were sentenced to death, others were dismissed by military court
martials for their refusal to fight Boko Haram militants. But the soldiers said they were
not provided the right combat equipment to fight the terrorists.
Our correspondent gathered in Kaduna that the screening, which is going on at the
outskirts of the cantonment, is housing over 3,000 soldiers awaiting determination by a
committee from the army headquarters.
“The soldiers are all there in Jaji cantonment awaiting their turns to be screened by the
committee and whoever scales through might be recalled. It was their prayer that if
General Muhammadu Buhari becomes president, he might recall them. These soldiers
are trained and it is very dangerous and wasteful if the federal government terminates
their employments,” the source said.
One of the soldiers who pleaded anonymity, insisted that the army authorities refused
to provide adequate arms and ammunition to fight the insurgents.
“I am a corporal and I have served in the Nigerian Army for the past 28 years, I have
served in Bama and Baga, what I saw there was a very bad situation, we were sent
there to fight insurgents without weapons and ammunition, can you imagine, a small
boy of 15 to 18 years will pursue a soldier and the soldier would run away simply
because the he does not have the machines that the boy has, only for the army
authorities to say they were dismissing us because we refused to fight Boko Haram.
“Nigerian soldiers are among the best around the world, the only problem we have is
that they are not equipped with the equipment needed to combat the terrorists but we
have the means and resources to do that”, he added.
Efforts to get the reaction of the army authorities before press time were futile.
(Daily Trust)
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