Nigerians Urge Support For Military As Criminals Kill 183 Soldiers In 6 Months
Fallen heroes deserve empathy – Experts We need weapons – Troops ‘How we can redeem the situation’
Many citizens and security experts have expressed concern over the killing of security operatives by criminals and called for action to stem the tide.
They specifically made case for military operatives who were killed in the line of duty while carrying out internal security.
No fewer than 183 personnel of the Nigerian military have paid the supreme price within six months - January to June, 2021 - in the line of their duties, findings by Daily Trust Saturday have shown.
Thousands of military operatives drawn from the army, navy and air force have been deployed to more than 30 states in the country.
According to reported cases in the media, the officers were killed by bandits, hoodlums, gunmen, Boko Haram terrorists, cultists, armed robbers, among others.
Available information showed that they were killed in different parts of the country, but a large percentage of the cases were recorded in the northern part, with NorthEast topping the chat.
States where soldiers have been killed include Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Niger, Nasarawa, Benue, Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that while soldiers were expected to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria against external aggression, many of them have been deployed to tame internal threats.
The troops support sister agencies like the police, civil defence, Customs and Immigrations in some instances even as they take over the whole operation in some places.
Some Nigerians who spoke to our correspondents said all security operatives in Nigeria deserve empathy and support.
Our findings showed that Boko Haram terrorists and members of the Islamic State West, Africa Province (ISWAP) killed 114 gallant troops while 69 were killed in other circumstances.
For instance, 36 officers were killed on April 24 in Mainok, Borno State during an ambush on a military super camp.
In another case, at least seven soldiers of the Nigerian Army died instantly after an ambush in northern part of Borno while four others sustained injuries.
Among the injured was Colonel Husseini Samaila Sankara, who also died while receiving treatment.
He was the latest to be buried in Abuja on Thursday.
Sankara, who was laid to rest at the Guards Brigade cemetery amid tears and emotions, died on July 1, 2021, on May 30, 2021.
The late officer was on his way from Marte, a town in Borno State, to the state capital, Maiduguri, when their gun truck ran into the explosive.
Another army major was killed in Jigawa State by armed robbers few days ago while on his way to Kano from Maiduguri.
On Thursday, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State said seven soldiers lost their lives while repelling a bandits’ attack in his state on Tuesday.
The governor said this when he visited five soldiers injured in the attack around Marke village.
They are receiving treatment at Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi.
In the South East and South South, members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the armed wing of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have also killed some soldiers.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that many cases of death or injury involving soldiers have not been reported by the media.
“I always cry whenever I read the news of the killing of our soldiers and other sister agencies,” said Maimuna Musa, who lives in Kubwa, Abuja.
“Our troops deserve every support to be alive because they sacrifice their lives to protect us,” she said.
Janet Yusuf, a teacher in Maiduguri said families of soldiers killed in the line of duty should be taken care of. “They deserve empathy. The soldiers that are alive also deserve to be celebrated,” she said.
Why soldiers are being killed – Security experts
Speaking to Daily Trust Saturday in a telephone interview, a security and intelligence expert, Kabiru Adamu, linked the killings to lack of physical protective equipment, as well as intelligence and tactical manoeuvres.
Adamu said communication among military officers were too open, adding that the vehicles they use in a ‘hot’ place like the North-East were not suitable because they are soft-skin.
He said, “In simple terms, it is the absence of both the physical protective equipment that every military personnel should have at his disposal, as well as the failure of both intelligence and tactical manoeuvres. Let me explain these few points.
“From the physical equipment, starting from their personal headgear, every military personnel on the field, on the forefront of a theatre of conflict, should have, in the minimum, personal protective equipment such as the bulletproof vest, helmet and several others that would limit the ability of the enemy to kill him.
“Even if the enemy shoots him, that personal protective equipment can reduce the possibility of the bullet piercing through and getting into his body. In our circumstances, all of these are missing. I can go on and on regarding physical security equipment.
“Another factor is on the vehicles our military is using to move. Most of these vehicles are soft-skin. You can’t have military personnel in a high intensity environment like the North-East when you are using softskin vehicles to travel.
“Also, they are using open communication like you and I. That also exposes them to vulnerability. So all these physical security equipment are unfortunately defective. Sometimes, it is as a result of procurement defects where corrupt people buy faulty equipment or sometimes because there is no funding,” he said.
He further noted that weak weapons used by soldiers were not helping the situation, and called on government and military authorities to provide personal protective equipment to the troops on the frontline.
“We can even talk about their weapons. You heard not too long ago when the chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Ali Ndume, talked about the nature and circumstances of equipment within the military cycle. That’s a huge blow. All of these are under physical security equipment.
“Let’s move to both intelligence and tactical manoeuvre. The relationship between the army and the air force should be like a synergy to ensure both effectiveness and efficiency.
“Unfortunately, in our circumstances, we are not doing enough on that. What do I mean? Most times, you want the air force to go out and bomb the enemies, reduce the capacity of the enemies to fight back, and then, the army will now go in and do the remaining jobs; in our own instance, we rarely hear of that.
“Most times, it is ambush; it surprises. I know perhaps because it is an asymmetric warfare, where the enemies live together with the people but I will counter that by saying that even at my level, on a daily basis we hear of the convergence of the enemies in a particular location,” he added.
On his part, the national expert, governance, peace and security unit of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Nigeria, Chukwuma Ume, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said fighting war required more than using AK-47.
According to him, weak intelligence gathering has been contributing to how Nigerian soldiers are being ambushed by enemies.
He said, “Everything boils down to what the Chief of Defence Staff said that troops could not fight war with old weapons. They need to be properly equipped. Equipping now goes beyond AK-47. There are aspects that require intelligence gathering.
“In today’s warfare, particularly the asymmetrical type, we need to start thinking about unmanned vehicles. For example, we need to use drones to collect intelligence.”
Ume flayed a situation where Nigeria was unable to procure ammunition from foreign powers because of defective international relations.
‘How we can redeem the situation’
The security experts submitted that Nigeria had solutions to present attacks on military personnel, either by terrorists or other criminals.
According to them, their involvement in maintaining the internal security of the country should be reduced and restricted to the security of territorial integrity.
They stressed that other security agencies like the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) should be well funded to maintain internal security in the country.
Ume further said, “We can address these killings from two perspectives - short term and long term. In the long term, we need to begin to engage locally.
“For example, we need to enhance the productive level of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) and related agencies of the government to produce these things locally. That is the long term. We need to begin to look inward in order to produce some of the basic hard wares.
“In the short term, we need to increase our international relations. We need to increase our level of play at the world system levels so that some of these things can be given to us as we need them. We need to move away from arm-chair diplomacy.”
On his part, Adamu also urged military authorities to look at those highlighted reasons the soldiers are being killed critically and proffer immediate solutions.
Give Special incentives to troops, deceased’ families
On whether the government should go beyond what is in the condition of service for the families of slain personnel, the two experts submitted that it should first implement what the provisions stated properly so as to encourage other personnel on the field.
Another security expert, Salihu Bakhari, urged the federal government to build houses to families of soldiers killed in the line of duty.
“Their families should live a dignified life after the death of their loved ones. It is very common to see wives and children of fallen heroes going back to the village because they have nothing in the cities to support them after they leave the barracks unceremoniously.
“Government should also as a matter of policy give their children automatic scholarship because this is a common intervention in other climes,” he said.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, said on Thursday that old tools and military might alone cannot defeat asymmetric warfare like banditry, kidnapping and the Boko Haram insurgency.
Speaking at the Regimental Dinner organised in honour of the graduating students of Senior Course 43 of Armed Forces Command and Staff College, the CDS said the military had resolved to acquire new platforms and capability to address the nation’s security challenges.
In March this year, the Presidency through Malam Garba Shehu announced that 6 of the 12 super Tucano fighter aircraft earlier ordered by the federal government are set to arrive in the country by mid-July 2021, with the remaining 6 to come in shortly after.
This followed the November 2018 award of a $329 million Foreign Military Sales contract to SNC through the US government to build 12 A-29s for the Nigerian Air Force.
We need weapons – Troops
Officers of the Nigerian Army who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said they were always ready to be in the battlefront.
They urged military authorities to fasttrack the provision of good, super and new weapons, including drones and the Super Tucano.
One of the officers said, “Nigerian soldiers are gallant. We are not afraid of war, and Insha Allah, we shall win this insurgency and other wars we are currently facing.
“We are only appealing to our superiors to always meet our demands. We need weapons that are superior to the ones those criminals are holding.
“We are well trained while they (terrorists) are not trained. I don’t see why we can’t defeat them within the shortest possible time.
“But I think the only things we are lacking are just two: weapons and motivation. If these two things are provided, insurgency will become a thing of the past.
Another soldier the struggle by many youths to join the army is an indication that they have the love of Nigeria at heart.
“Our leaders should reciprocate by making the job more attractive,” he said.