Military commanders aiding Boko Haram, soldier alleges

According to a report by Punch, a Nigerian soldier who was a guest on the Voice of America Hausa Service has claimed that some military chiefs are aiding the men of the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

The soldier who did not reveal his identity, told VON Hausa Service, that sometime ago, while serving in Bama Unit in Borno state, a commander from a nearby unit got in contact with his own commandant and asked for backup.He said when he and the soldiers were to meet with the soldiers from the other commandant, they discovered they were given different uniforms and in the brink of launching the attack on the insurgent group, the soldiers from the other unit were withdrawn by their commandant leaving them to face the men of the Islamic sect alone with light arms. He also claimed that some of the insurgents they killed were officers that conducted training in military base in Kontagora near Abuja.

"We had only light arms and our men were being picked off one after the other. We realised that some of them were actually mercenaries from the Nigerian army… hired to fight us,” he said.

The unidentified soldier said that most of his colleagues are silently putting their arms down and leaving the army due to the frustrations they experienced and what he termed the politicizing of the war against the Islamic sect

"“I swear by Allah, there are soldiers who are coming out of the forest after they were abandoned; several of them dropped their weapons and just went home. There were more than 20 of them from this battalion in Kwanduga. Even me that is talking to you now, I am preparing to leave. I just want to tell the world so that they will know what is happening. These people are doing this secretly.” he said

His claim on some military personnel being recruited by the sect group seem to have been confirmed as some Military high command on Sunday launched an investigation into claims of a lance corporal who was said to be killed by the Special Forces during an encounter with  insurgents in Borno State. The Lance Corporal according to a source told Punch that he was a trusted  trainer of Special Forces at the Nigerian Army Training Centre, Kontagora.

"A soldier who trains Special Forces at the Nigerian Army Training Centre in Kontagora, Niger State, was among those who were killed. The man was not among the Special Forces; he was obviously leading the attack for the insurgents but he got killed. It was one of the soldiers that identified him as somebody from his unit in Kotangora. The soldier called attention to the man’s corpse and when the commander said he should be searched, they recovered a current pass authorizing him to leave Kotangora and his Army identity card from him".

Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade in response to the soldiers claims said they were all not true and that the unidentified soldier could be a Boko Haram sect member who was disguising as a Soldier.

"The person that granted that interview on the VOA; we believe he is not a soldier, he could just be one of those simulated on the other side to give some false impression to support the insurgents.” He refused to comment on the story about the killed lance corporal who is alleged to have been working for the sect members.