Group begs Buhari, lawmakers to recall 4,500 sacked soldiers, accuses army leadership of ethnic, religious favouritism
Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative, IPDI, a rights group in Niger Delta, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari and National Assembly to prevail on the Chief of Army Staff to recall the 4,500 soldiers dismissed for various offences in the North-East without allegedly following due process.
National President of IPDI, Austin Ozobo, said in a statement: “We have also discovered that some of these soldiers were sacked based on religious, tribal and regional sentiments without due process.
“We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to look into this situation, take a second look at the offences of these dismissed soldiers in the North-East from 2013 till date on theirs merit and those soldiers with minor offences and others dismissed without due process be called back to the Army service.
“We also call on the National Assembly, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila to beseech the Chief of Army Staff to avail them the number of the dismissed soldiers and their offences and ensure they are called back.
“It has been observed that a good number of these dismissed soldiers have now become bandits, some others are with Boko Haram and the ISWAP groups fighting and causing more harm against the system. They are equally training members of their new trade on weaponry.”
“Some of these dismissed soldiers who are not members of the militia groups threatening the peace of this country are also suffering hardship. They can hardly put food on their tables, their children have left school. Some of them now have broken marriages and others are now doing labourer work to survive.
“These have compounded the security problem in the country, dependents’ level has increased, arms proliferation and security threat multiplied. These indices are making the fight against insurgency difficult for the Nigerian soldiers at the war front.“Therefore, we will gladly suggest that the dismissed soldiers, numbering over 4,500 be called back to the Nigerian Army Service for peace and better security of the country.
“The Chief of Army Staff should not be beclouded by religious sentiments, tribal and regional hatred. Dismissal is the last option in military service, but many of these people were dismissed without due process.
“We reiterate that recalling these dismissed soldiers will reduce banditry and weaken the strength and manpower of the Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgence, which in turn will bring peace and calm down the insecurity uprising in the country,” the group said.
