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Mutiny In Nigerian Army: 500 Soldiers To Face Interrogation

06:54

 
A soldier sits in a truck during a military patrol in Nigeria's central city of Jos. Credit: Reuters
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On May 14, some soldiers of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army started shooting sporadically into the air and attacked their former Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major General Abubakar Mohammed.
Major General Mohammed was removed. He was replaced by Brigadier General Mahmud Yakubu Ibrahim.
The 7th Division was formed two months ago. It is tasked with combating Islamist militants Boko Haram.
Several soldiers of the Division had been killed in two subsequent incidences of ambush when they had been returning from Chibok village to the barracks. This incident, on a par with the lack of adequate weaponry and non-timely payment of allowances, is believed to be the reasons of the soldiers' misconduct.
An internal Board of Inquiry has been set up to look into the mutiny, sources in the military told This Day. Some people, however, have already been arrested.
"So far, the inquiry is an internal matter of the unit where the soldiers misbehaved.... The Board will interrogate all the soldiers in the battalion in order to be able to dethrone those behind it. We are
talking of about 500 to 700 facing the Board of Inquiry. The probe is not limited to the few who fired shots at the car of the former GOC," a military source, who requested anonymity said.
Asked why all the soldiers in the battalion will be interrogated, the source said: "The picture of the incident could be larger than you think... We have to sort out all the soldiers in the battalion to get to the root of this professional indiscipline."
According to another source, the Defence Headquarters has directed military police to carry out independent investigation into the episode.
"The military police will fill some gaps which the Board of Inquiry might not be able to cover," the source added.
READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/66570.html

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