The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika, yesterday revealed that some soldiers have been caught relating with the Boko Haram and divulging vital operational secrets of the Army to the Islamist sect. Ihejirika gave the revelation in Abuja at a seminar on “Personnel Management and Development,” organised by the Army Transformation and Innovation Centre.
The COAS, who was very angry with the development, stressed that this had hampered Army operations leading to the death of some soldiers. Recall that on January 19 this year, two soldiers were killed with five others injured at Okene, Kogi State, when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted on their path exploded while travelling from Akure to Kachia, Kaduna State to train, preparatory to international peace-keeping operations in Mali.
Gen. Ihejirika said that a soldier supplied the information on their movement to the insurgents which led to the successful attack. Although vital information on the soldiers was yet to be released by the Army Headquarters, the COAS disclosed that a “the soldier has been apprehended and will be court-marshalled.” He said while some were busy posting negative comments on the internet, others were promoting communications with insurgents and giving them information on the movements of troops.
He warned soldiers to desist from such disloyal acts, vowing to deal decisively with those found culpable. He said that with the present challenging security situation, it was not good for the Army to be losing operatives to dismissals, stressing on the need for them to be forthright and professional in their activities. The COAS said that he has advised commanders to mellow down in dismissing soldiers, but insisted that if the crime was such that they could not afford to keep them, then they had no choice than dismiss and jail them.
He said although the challenges were enormous, the Army was also prepared to face even more challenges. General Ihejirika said that as part of its readiness for more challenges, the Army was training over 1,000 amphibious soldiers to operate in the waterways, establishing 101 Battalion as Army Headquarters’ reserved battalion, to be led by a Colonel and supported by 25 other officers, as well as building 176 Battalion at Gwagwalada in Abuja.
Earlier, the Chief of Army Transformation and Innovation, Major-General Ibrahim Sani, said that active digitalised roadblocks/ checkpoints have also been put in place to ensure proper checking of movements of criminals, IEDs, arms and ammunition and free flow of traffic to reduce the hardship encountered by people.
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