By Tosin Olatokunbo
The Centre for Law and Civil Culture, CLCC has called on the federal government to reinstate Lance Corporal Idapeni Martins, the soldier who recently in a viral video lambasted the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Burutai and the military top brass of failure to provide weapons for troops fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the north east.
The group which laments the dearth of weapons necessary to prosecute the war, warned the military to stop punishing soldiers who are bold to expose corruption in the armed forces.
In a press statement signed by CLCC’s Executive Secretary, Abduganiy Imran and made available to the magazine, the body stated that rather than punish Martins unjustly, the revelation that soldiers who put themselves on harm’s way, lacked weapons to fight “calls for a sober reflection on the state of insecurity and the unending war against Boko Haram in our dear Country.”
Besides, “the daily massacre of innocent Nigerians, rape and incessant abductions of women and children by bandits in Niger, Katsina , Adamawa, Taraba State etc. has becomes a major concerns to Nigerians,” it said.
It further stated that revelations by Martins is a confirmation of the sad reality in the nation’s armed forces and what soldiers face daily on the battle fields.
Therefore “We must rise up to defend our soldiers before they become fallen heroes due to the lack of weapons to fight the insurgencies across the Country,” the group said.
While commending Martins for his boldness, the Centre urged the military not to sweep the allegation under the carpet rather, it should be investigated and addressed.
Going down memory lane, the body said the revelation is not new.
“CLCC recalls similar outburst by the former Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kazim Shetima when he said that ‘Boko Haram are better armed and better motivated than our troops, Given the present state of Affairs, it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat Boko Haram.’
Apart from this “soldiers at the Maimalari Cantonment staged a protest on the 14th day of May, 2014 over the brutal killing of 10 of their colleagues by the dreaded Boko Haram troops. The protest was predicated on lack of basic weapons, poor feeding as well as non-payment of accrued salaries and allowances. CLCC recall that about 12 of the Soldiers were arrested and sentenced to death.”
It further stated that “sometimes in August, 2014, about 300 wives 500 children of military officers gathered at the gate of a military base in Borno State and staged a protesting lack of weapons for their spouses fighting Boko Haram.”
Also “in a viral video of 31st March, 2020, General Olusegun Adeniyi, the then Commander of Operation Lafia Dole, expressed frustrations on the superior firepower of the dreaded Boko Haram. He was immediately removed and redeployed to the Nigerian Army Research Centre,” CLCC said.
The group has therefore, called on the military authorities to account for the yearly billions budgetary allocation for acquisition of weapons, as this will go a long way in addressing the perennial complaints by troops that they lack the necessary platforms to prosecute the war.
