Boko Haram: Army Reinstates 2500 Soldiers, 102 Officers

Over 2,500 soldiers asked to withdraw from
service over alleged offences committed
under the counter- insurgency operations
code named Operation Zaman Lafiya have
been recalled by the Nigerian army.
A review panel set up by the army, which
began sitting in Kaduna on Monday, August
17, screened and reinstated 102 officers, who
were sentenced or facing prosecution in
relation to the operations in the North-East.
According to The Punch, the reinstated
soldiers and officers, had commenced
retraining at the Nigerian Army Training
Centre, Kontangora, Niger state.
It was learnt that the 2,500 soldiers were
among the over 4,000 who responded to a
memo from the army authorities inviting
soldiers for a review of recent disciplinary
cases, which emanated from the counter
terrorism operations.
The army had said on Saturday, August 1,
2015 that the service would constitute a
panel to review all recent disciplinary cases
in the service
However, the Acting Director, Army Public
Relations, Col. Sani Usman, cautioned that
the directive to review disciplinary cases
should not be mistaken for a “total
reinstatement of dismissed and deserter
soldiers.”
More dismissed personnel of the army might
be brought back to the service as the
screening panel would continue with the
review of cases on Monday, August 24.
A source in the Nigerian Army who spoke
under anonimity, said: “The panel has
cleared 2,500 soldiers who were dismissed
from their units for minor offences alleged to
have been committed under Operation Zaman
Lafiya.”
“The review panel also cleared 102 officers
who were either asked to withdraw,
dismissed or facing prosecution for various
offences under the operation.”
The soldiers, who were said to have been
conveyed out of the NDA, Kaduna, venue of
the review panel, in luxury buses on
Saturday, August 22, are expected to undergo
a short retraining exercise as part of the
reintegration requirements into the service at
the NATRAC, Kotangora.
It is gathered that after the retraining, the
Army authorities would screen the affected
personnel and re-activate their suspended
bank accounts.
The cases of 66 soldiers who were sentenced
to death by firing squad, would also be
reviewed by the panel.
According to the source, not all the
dismissed soldiers who turned up in Kaduna
were lucky to have regained their jobs.
Some of the soldiers, said to have been
dismissed about 15 years ago for various
offences, were asked to leave the venue of
the review panel.
The soldiers were said to have been
dismissed from the Army for various offences
since the regime of former President
Olusegun Obasanjo.
Majority of the affected soldiers were
dismissed from the service for violating a law
said to have forbidden the personnel of the
Army from marrying foreigners.
Col. Sani Usman, the acting director, Army
public relations, said those asked to leave
the venue of the review panel were not
eligible for the review exercise.
The army spokesman said they were
dismissed from the service for various
offences about 15 years ago and were not
part of those whose cases were meant for
review.
Usman described them as “a group of
mischief-makers who should have been
arrested and prosecuted for disrupting the
peace of the public.”
He said, “The alleged protesting soldiers
were no longer soldiers for almost 15 years
now.
“They were dismissed for various offences
and therefore are not part of those whose
disciplinary cases are being reviewed by the
committee. Consequently, they are not
eligible for the ongoing review.
“They are bunch of mischief makers that
need to be arrested and prosecuted for
constituting a nuisance to the public.
Already the relevant security agencies have
been alerted on their activities.”

.
On the issue of the recalled officers and men
of the Army, he said that he could not give
the figure of those screened and cleared.
Usman said that the exercise was ongoing
and that the panel was expected to submit
its report to relevant authorities.
He added. “This is an ongoing exercise; they
want to ensure that justice is done. I cannot
give you any figure, the authorities are
waiting for the committee’s report; they will
conclude sitting very soon.”
It would be recalled that about 8 months
ago, 54 soldiers were sentenced to be
executed by firing squad by a military
tribunal after been found guilty of mutiny.
The convicted soldiers who were attached to
the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army in
Maiduguri, were said to have disobeyed
orders to join operations against Boko
Haram on Monday, August 4, 2014. The
group initially consisted of two Corporals
(Cpl) nine Lance Corporals (LCpl) and 49
privates soldiers, but four of the soldiers
were acquitted.
This controversial case is another in a series,
it follows the verdict of a military court in
Abuja which found 12 out of of 18 soldiers
guilty for attempted murder and mutiny in
Maimalari cantonment, on Wednesday, May
14, 2014.
Reports have it that on Wednesday, May 14,
2014, the soldiers angered by the death of
12 of their colleagues in a Boko Haram
ambush, opened fire on the vehicle of the
General Officer Commanding (GOC), of the
7th division of the Nigerian Army, Ahmadu
Mohammed.