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Maiduguri - Nigeria's military says some officers are selling arms
and ammunition to Boko Haram, indicating the corruption bedeviling the
country's fight against the Islamic extremists continues despite government
efforts to halt graft.
The
admission comes three weeks after the Nigerian army said a military tribunal is
trying 16 officers and troops accused of offenses related to the fight against
Boko Haram, including the theft and sale of ammunition.
Major
General Lucky Irabor, the theatre commander in northeastern Nigeria, told a
news conference on Thursday that military authorities have confirmed that some
soldiers were selling arms and ammunition to Boko Haram. He called it a
betrayal of the Nigerian people. He gave no more details.
President
Muhammadu Buhari has blamed corruption for the deaths of thousands in the
seven-year Islamic uprising that has killed more than 20 000. Children who
escaped Boko Haram are dying of starvation in refugee camps in the northeast,
where the government is investigating the alleged theft of food aid.
A
soldier on the frontline of the fight told The Associated Press that his
brigade commander is among officers standing trial at the court-martial in this
northeastern city, which is being held in secret. He said the army is
investigating what happened to 21 anti-aircraft guns assigned this year to his
artillery brigade. He said they only received one gun. The soldier spoke on
condition of anonymity because he feared he would lose his job.
Multinational force
In
addition, a slew of retired and current military officers are being
investigated for diverting hundreds of millions of dollars budgeted to help
curb the Islamic uprising. Among them is Alex Badeh, a four-star general whom
Buhari fired from his post as chief of defense staff. Witnesses have told a
Federal High Court that Badeh stole the equivalent of $24 million budgeted for
salaries in 2013 and built a shopping mall in Abuja, the capital.
Civil
society groups are demanding the investigation of the current chief of army
staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, for allegedly buying with cash two
properties worth $1.5 million in Dubai. Buratai has said he bought the property
on installment with savings.
Before
Buhari took power, soldiers told the AP they were forced into battle with just
30 bullets each and no food rations. They said Boko Haram was better armed and
that their officers were stealing parts of their salaries and allowances. Many
ran away when the extremists attacked, allowing Boko Haram to take control of a
large swath of northeastern Nigeria in 2014.
Under
Buhari, a former military dictator, a multinational force has retaken most
towns but Boko Haram remains active outside urban areas, carrying out
hit-and-run attacks, suicide bombings and abductions of women and girls.
