Boko Haram: Army accuses soldiers of being cowards, unpatriotic

– Nigerian army says the 250 protesting soldiers should not be taken seriously

– The soldiers said they were dismissed because they were late for a parade

– The army says the officers were among the 3. 000 soldiers dismissed for mutiny

The Nigerian army has accused some soldiers of being unpatriotic in the ongoing fight against the Boko Haram insurgency.

2,023 soldiers were reportedly dismissed by the Nigerian army for mutiny but were later reinstated by Tukur Buratai, the chief of army staff. Last week however, 250 soldiers from the reinstated officers were dismissed.

The 250 dismissed soldiers however took to the road in protest as they gathered at the Nigerian Union of Journalist secretariat. They claimed they were unjustly dismissed and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to look into the issue. They claimed they were dismissed because they were late for a parade in spite of the fact that they had just concluded three months intensive training and were awaiting deployment.

READ ALSO: Bornor government exposes Boko Haram’s latest scheme

However, PM News reports that in a statement issued by Colonel Sani Usman, the acting spokesperson of the Nigerian army, he said the 250 dismissed soldiers protesting should not be taken seriously as they were cowards.

The army spokesperson said: “The attention of the Nigerian Army has also been drawn to a set of 250 protesting dismissed soldiers in Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat, Kaduna pleading through the media to be reabsorbed back again into the Nigerian Army.

“The protesting soldiers were those soldiers dismissed last week by the Nigerian Army over gross acts of indiscipline, cowardice and absence without leave. They were part of the 2,023 dismissed soldiers last year that were earlier reinstated back into the Service by the present Chief of Army Staff.

“However these set of soldiers (the 250) absconded for more than one week when they were told that they were to move to North East on the 6th of January 2016. They started coming back when they realised that others were moved to units other than the theatre of operations in the North East.

READ ALSO: CDS takes over from Buratai in Boko Haram war

“Please note that all efforts were made to make all the reinstated soldiers comfortable and integrate them back into the system. The protesting soldiers are the few who are recalcitrant to military duties and discipline. They are simply not interested in army job but want to earn salary. No one should listen to them as they are not patriotic at all.

“It should be noted that the Nigerian Army has been tolerant and patient with their acts of indiscipline and unprofessional conduct.

“This was based on the understanding of their circumstances and conditions. Efforts have been made to retrain them, integrate and give them sense of belonging. However the attitude of some of them has left so much to be desired and would not be tolerated anymore hence their dismissal from Service.

“The Nigerian Army thrives on discipline, loyalty and good conduct and if anyone could not measure up to expectation or live by those tenets, he would not be allowed to remain in the system.”

Meanwhile, as parts of efforts to beef up security in the northeast the army is set to close some markets in Borno and Yobe states to curtail smuggling in the region.

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