₦airaland Forum

Some Nigerian soldiers on Thursday protested against the non-payment of allowances and poor equipment, Channel TV reported.

The aggrieved troops, according to sources at the Maimalari barracks, besieged the headquarters of the Theatre Command in Borno State, shooting sporadically into the air on Thursday night.

Sources said the troops of an unidentified battalion in Operation Lafiya Dole, protest after they were posted to a location in the Theatre of Operation.

Some of the soldiers who spoke under anonymity recalled how a whole unit that went for reinforcement when Marte was captured last month, perished under superior firepower of insurgents.

This protest came when kidnapping has been a big threat to Nigeria’s security, especially in northern region of the country.

Since December 2020, gangs of bandits seeking lucrative ransom have kidnapped a total of 769 students from their boarding schools and other educational facilities across northern Nigeria in at least five separate incidents.

That figure changes every time with reports of more attacks and abductions.

The region has long been afflicted by violence fuelled by disputes over access to land and resources, among other factors.

Mining activities in Zamfara State have also been blamed for the uptick in violence in the region.

Criminal gangs have taken advantage of the lack of effective policing to launch attacks, pillaging villages, stealing cattle and spreading fear.

Boarding schools have been particularly targeted by the criminal gangs.

At least $18.34m was paid to kidnappers as ransom – mostly by families and the government – between June 2011 and March 2020, according to a report by SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence, a Lagos-based political risk analysis firm.

“The motivation of these groups appears to be purely economic,” Ikemesit Effiong, head of research at SBM, told Al Jazeera. “They don’t seem political. The high rate of poverty in this country has led many to resort to such criminal activities for economic survival.”

dikeigbo2:
Odiegwu really......the best military in the world

Tolexander:
Buhari don spoil Nigeria finish

ShaqFu:
This is indeed a shame. I'm sure even with all this happening, by now our senators and house of rep (tile) members, would have gone home with their huge salaries and allowances.

Anyway, It's not their sons and daughters that are being kidnapped, maimed and killed. So how can we blame them. It's so sad.

Karlovych:
Their counterparts in other countries get paid and respected by their country but only in a zoo will such thing be occurring. I pity anyone joining the Nigerian army, only brainless zombies like vulturebbqrillz and Helinus deserve to fight for their darling daddy.

fitzmayowa:
I don't think people are enlisting that much our barracks is practically empty and the army is not being sincere about it...

The last 2 months we've lost over a 150 soldiers and the number keeps growing, its just really sad....

Karlovych:
It's very sad, meanwhile military leaders are buying mansions with funds meant for their juniors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwvPpocGimY
Adesina said though security agencies were not complaining of lack of weapons, the govt was making moves to acquire more weapons for the military.He said, “Most of the security agencies did not complain of lack of equipment.

He made the claim despite multiple video evidence of military personnel publicly lamenting the same lack of sophisticated weapons to combat insurgency in the country.

Ironically, Adeniyi was convicted on the day the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed re-echoed his claims that the army lacked the weapons to engage the insurgents.

OkpaNsukkaisBae:
Too bad