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| Nigeria Army [Credit: The cable] |
Some soldiers of the Nigerian army who were involved in courses in Nigerian School of Military Engineering, Makurdi, Benue State, in the third and fourth quarters of 2023, have cried out for unpaid entitlements.
An investigation has revealed that personnel of the Nigerian army have recently been involved in various forms of crime, ranging from theft, smuggling, and mounting of illegal checkpoints, mainly for extortionate purposes. These, among various other crimes, have recently been seen within the Nigerian army, which has led to various arrests and dismissals in recent years.
However, an investigation was launched into these anomalies in the Nigerian army by a team of concerned veterans, where it was discovered that there is ground corruption in the Nigerian army by some senior military officers.
Abudu Olumayowa, a military veteran and former Lagos State House of Assembly aspirant in 2023 election, said, "This corruption ranges from diversion of funds meant for soldiers' welfare, leading to poor welfarism for soldiers, like embezzling of courses or training allowances, and other allowances in the MAFA not paid. This has become some of the underlying factors leading to soldiers' involvement in illegal activities since they equally have families who rely on them. "
Society has oftentimes seen military men as nuisances and extortionate fellows who constitute nuisances at will. However, these activities often reoccur due to misappropriation happening within ranks and files in the military. It should be noted that the Nigerian army men are equally human beings and, at the same time, have civilian families who largely rely on them for their upkeep. Most of the crimes committed by soldiers are directly or indirectly orchestrated by misappropriation of funds by senior military officers.
It is in this vein that we launched an investigation into a recent issue of the third and fourth quarter 2023, where investigation shows that some soldiers of the Nigerian army who went on course in "The Nigerian Army School of Military Engineers, Makurdi, Benue State" have not been paid.
This act is condemnable and unacceptable, especially where soldiers do not have other means of livelihood. We urge the HQ Nigerian Army to immediately launch an investigation into this matter.
Olumayowa said, the commandant therefore has a week to do the needful about the welfare of these soldiers, or this becomes subject of public opinion with petitions to quarters like, Committee on Defence in the Senate, Committee on Army in the Senate, Committee on Defence in the House of Representatives, Committee on Army in the House of Representatives, and lastly, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for proper investigation.
"The lives of soldiers who sacrifice themselves for the nation really matters, they should not be treated like trash by senior military officers," he added.