By Ochiaka Ugwu & Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, has come hard on 40 mutinous soldiers stating that death sentence awaits them as consequence for their act of insubordination.
While cautioning officers and men of the Nigerian Army to desist from any form of mutiny in the face of the ongoing campaign against the Boko Haram sect, the Army Chief warned that any soldier who engages in any form of mutiny is risking a death sentence, as the offence is punishable by firing squad.
Minimah, who spoke in Enugu while addressing officers and men of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, was particularly miffed at the action of soldiers who refused to serve in Maiduguri, Borno State, and other parts of the North East region.
It was earlier reported by Hausa Service of BBC that over 40 soldiers yesterday mutinied in Borno over lack of efficient, sufficient weapon and ammunition to fight the on-going insurgency launched by the dreaded Boko Haram sect in the state.
According to the report, the said soldiers who packed at the entrance of Borno state and refused to obey command from their superior lamented that they would neither leave the army nor fight insurgency until sophisticated and enough weapons are supplied to them.
Minimah also frowned at the actions of some army officers’ wives, who recently attempted to stop their husbands from being deployed to go into action against the insurgents, stressing that refusal to carry out commands, especially deployment for military action in the North East, amounted to mutiny.
Minimah who said, “Mutiny is death sentence.” condemned the action of the spouses of the army officers who demonstrated against the deployment of their husbands.
Warning against a repeat of such incident, the army chief stressed that these women have no hand in military postings, which he described as a purely military act, adding that, should the wives of army officers repeat the action, “soldiers would koboko them.”
The Rivers State born general noted that “Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association” (NAOWA), the umbrella body of army officers’ wives, was not a trade union and as a result has no reason to interfere in military duties.
He wondered if the soldiers’ wives thought that the army was ‘Boys Scout Movement or a Boys Brigade that they should come and disrupt army business.’
The COAS, who was in Enugu in line with an ongoing familiarisation tour of military formations also assured that the insurgency in the North East would end soon.
He stated that the army is poised to procure more weapons that would enable it to end the war with the Boko Haram sect in the near future.
According to him, “with the procurement of the weapons, Boko Haram’s days are numbered.
“We are procuring more weapons for the war against Boko Haram. We will end the war with Boko Haram very, very soon, there is no doubt we will win the war”.
He noted that winning the war is the only way the army and its officers and men could earn the confidence and adulation of Nigerians.
“Let us show the country that we can do that in the North East and then we shall walk tall in Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS also warned soldiers to steer clear of politics and politicians who might want to use them to score cheap political points, informing them to only work for politicians when they are on official assignments during electioneering campaigns or during elections proper.
However, the BBC said the mutiny however came following the ambushed launched on Monday this week where armour tanks belonging to the Nigerian army were confiscated by the insurgents on their way to Alabelo town.
One of the mutinous soldiers who spoke to BBC said, “We are neither leaving army nor fighting insurgency, unless we are supplied with sophisticated weapons because we cannot go and waste our lives. We are equally human being.
On whether their action does not constitute disobedience to military service, the soldier who doesn’t want his name in print replied, “No, it is not like that. We are only pushed to the wall. When things become worst you must react. Even If your father asks you to do something that is not proper you must tell him that, that thing is not proper and possible.
Continuing “If they (army principals) want total obedience, let them supply sufficient and efficient weapons to us. We cannot go to those difficult areas without supporting weapons that would assist us to advance forward. As I am talking to you now, I am holding AK47 but no enough ammunition to confront Boko Haram insurgents and there are lots of sophisticated weapons in military barrack in Maiduguri but they do not want us to use it” he added.
The soldier further alleged that the Civilian JTF in Borno has given the army the information on the where about of the insurgents but showed no concern to locate and dislodge the area.
On whether also their action signified that they are afraid of the insurgents, the soldier said, “ no, we are not afraid of anybody but we cannot move from here even if it takes us to stay for a year.
