Some senior Nigerian army officers are giving information to the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram and bandits in the northeast and other parts of Nigeria, a Nigerian army officer has said.
The army officer made the revelation on Sunday when complaining about what he called “sabotage” in Nigeria’s war on terror, saying it has resulted in the deaths of scores of security personnel.
“It happens mostly during operations,” said the soldier who pleaded for anonymity.
He said, “After mapping out how to raid the terrorists’ hideout, they were nowhere to be found when we got there, only for them to ambush and kill our soldiers on their way back from the mission”.
While discussing about some of the attacks on the military base, the soldier alleged that terrorists launch attacks mainly when troops run out of supplies.
“The attack on us in Marte on January 5, we all know how it happened. The informants among us tell them when we are low on supplies, they tell them how many soldiers we have in the field and how to attack. This is the problem we face.
“The gun and bullet they gave us na to shoot, no be decoration but sometimes someone will tell you not to shoot until he order you to,” he said, adding that “this war is getting tough and difficult because the officers working with the terrorists are many. Their sponsors in government are not giving up. With that, I don’t think this war will end soon.”
Nigeria’s war on terror has come under criticism since 2015 when Muhammadu Buhari became the country’s president. Many citizens accuse the government of compromise and sabotage in the fight against terrorism, mainly against jihadists known as bandits or Fulani herdsmen who have spread to the south of the country.
In 2018, a former defense minister, General Theophirus Danjuma, called on Nigerians to rise up and defend themselves against ‘ethnic cleansing’, saying “…these killers have been protected by the military, they cover them and you must be watchful to guide and protect yourselves because you have no any other place to go”.