Boko Haram: 3032 Pardoned Soldiers Refuse Redeployment

Thousands of soldiers who were pardoned
last August for various alleged offences
during campaigns against the Islamic
terrorist group, Boko Haram, have rejected
redeployment to the battle fronts in the
northeast.
Some of the soldiers who rejected
redeployment
The soldiers totaling about 3032 soldiers,
explained that they were never really
pardoned and re-integrated into the Army, but
rather, re-sentenced to the war front.
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Vanguard reports that this created anxiety at
the command and staff college, Nigerian
Army School of Infantry (NASI), in Jaji,
Kaduna state.
The soldiers who claimed to have been
subjected to unimaginable ill treatment after
their pardon – were gathered by the
commandant of NASI, Major General Kassim
Aldulkareem, to inform them that they have
been assigned new riffles and should be
ready for deployment to the fronts on
Monday, January 11, 2016.
Sources inform that the soldiers complained
that they have not been fully re-instated into
the Nigerian Army, because attempts by them
to report to their units were rejected at their
bases since they have no re-instatement
letters.
The soldiers also said that since they have
been kicked out of the barracks they have
not been paid for seven months making their
families who live off-barracks begging for
food.
Witnesses said they cried, “We are not going!
Give us re-instatement letters! You are
sentencing us back to war,” among others.
According to sources, the commandant
hurriedly left when the soldiers were
becoming uncontrollable.
One of the soldiers who spoke to some
newsmen on grounds of anonymity, said:
“Look at me; I have put in about 28 years of
my life serving this country. I have seen
action in Liberia; I have been to Rwanda,
Sudan and even served overseas and we the
Nigerian troops did very well and were
decorated in some occasions.
“But, our experience in fighting to save our
motherland is too sad a story for the outside
world to know. We are not cowards. We held
on for over four months facing Boko Haram.
“I just want to say that after the Army
dismissed about 5,000 of us, 3032 of us
were pardoned last August. Since that time,
the Army Authority has treated us like
prisoners of wars.”
“We were told to assemble in Jaji on August
17, which we did. Then on August 19, the
General Officer Commander (GOC), of 1st
Infantry Division, Maj Gen Adeniyi Oyebade
gathered us and without prior noticed moved
us to Nigerian Army training Centre
(NATRAC), Kontogora. Some of us found
ourselves there in bathroom slippers. We
were just taken straight to the place. Then,
without any additional clothes or uniform, we
were subjected to what was clear
punishment, not training for another three
weeks.
“Still in the clothes we came, we were again
relocated to 333 artillery Barracks, Njetilo,
Maiduguri. We got nothing but constant
insults as cowards. We were there without
uniforms no arms. They just left us there and
we were abused and told to assemble at
every two hours through these days for
another three weeks.
“In Jaji, we went through another round of
punishment, not training. Yet, we were not
given any letter to show that we are still
serving soldiers.
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“So when the Commandant came and said
we were going back to the North East,
without clearing our status, we felt we have
been punished enough.” the soldier said.
Spokesman for the Nigerian Infantry Corps,
Major CK Abaide, told pressmen on phone
that he was not aware of the development.
He said he would get back to the
correspondents to share the army’s side of
the story.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian army on Wednesday,
January 6, said that implementing the
Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the federal
government was reason for the delay in
payment of allowances to some of its officers