A video showing dozens of Nigerian soldiers complaining about lack of food and water at their camp has surfaced on social media sites, leaving the military embarrassed over allegations it does not take care of its troops fighting the Boko Haram insurgency.

The footage -- published on Twitter and Facebook on Tuesday -- showed the soldiers appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on army authorities to take care of them.

At least three soldiers were shown lying on the floor in the video as a speaker narrated the alleged rampant case of “dehydration and lack of food” at the soldiers’ camp.

The military rejected the allegations.

Army spokesman Sani Usman said the footage was not new and that concerns raised by the troops had long been addressed. He described the circulation of the footage as “mischievous” that targeted at creating a “false impression”.

A yet unknown number of Nigerian soldiers drowned in the Yobe River in North-East Nigeria as they tried to escape intense fire from Boko Haram fighters on Monday, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.

Also, no fewer than 22 soldiers are currently recuperating in a hospital in neighbouring Niger Republic following the attack.

The troops were manning an outpost in Gashigar, Borno State, near the border with Niger, when hundreds of terrorists advanced rapidly towards them, forcing the troops to abandon their position with some diving into the nearby river, top military sources familiar with the development told PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday.

The Nigerian Army had on Tuesday distributed a statement announcing the assault on Nigerian troops, but blamed it on “escaping Boko Haram remnants.”

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA - Nigeria's military says some officers are selling arms and ammunition to Boko Haram, indicating the corruption bedeviling the country's fight against the Islamic extremists continues despite government efforts to halt graft.

The admission comes three weeks after the Nigerian army said a military tribunal is trying 16 officers and troops accused of offenses related to the fight against Boko Haram, including the theft and sale of ammunition.

Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor, the theater commander in northeastern Nigeria, told a news conference on Thursday that military authorities have confirmed that some soldiers were selling arms and ammunition to Boko Haram. He called it a betrayal of the Nigerian people. He gave no more details.

About $15bn (£10bn) was stolen from the fight against militant Islamists in Nigeria under the previous government, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has said.

The money was diverted through fraudulent arms contracts, he added.

LAGOS, Nigeria — As the Nigerian military battled Boko Haram over the past year, scores of soldiers made a decision that would put their lives in grave danger — they refused to fight.
It wasn’t for lack of bravery, they said. It was for lack of weapons.

At least 66 of the soldiers have been found guilty of mutiny and sentenced to death by firing squad. Dozens more remain in detention, awaiting trial. The Nigerian government describes them as cowards. Their supporters say they are scapegoats.

OruExpress:
No. Please stop playing games with people's lives.