Nigerian soldiers attached to the 33 Artillery Brigade in Bauchi State have called for the removal of their commander, accusing him of starving troops executing Operation Flush Out in the state.
The soldiers who spoke to SaharaReporters on Thursday, on condition of anonymity over fear of victimization, said they had been spending all their salaries on feeding, which they said was at invariance with the operational standard of Nigerian Army Operations.
The soldiers, therefore, called for the immediate intervention of the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Bola Tinubu to address the issue of poor treatment of soldiers sacrificing their lives daily.
According to them, the situation is the reason why some soldiers are involved in criminal activities.
One of the affected soldiers said, “The Commander of 33 Artillery Brigade in Bauchi State have been paying N15,000 as operation allowance to soldiers that are in Operation Flush in the state for many years now.
“There is no feeding; just the N15,000 as a monthly allowance which is not supposed to be so. There is nowhere in the Nigerian Army today where they pay soldiers N15,000 with no feeding except in Bauchi State.
“As of now, the Nigerian Army Ration Cash Allowance (RCA) is N1,200 daily and monthly is N36,000. Soldiers’ normal operations allowance is N45,000 which is supposed to be paid to the soldiers’ account. So if the authorities are not feeding you, they have to pay the soldiers their RCA which is N36,000 plus the normal allowance of N45,000 together to make N81,000.
“But here in Operation Flush which is handled by the 33 Artillery Brigade Commander in Bauchi State, they are paying soldiers N15,000 and not providing food.”
Another soldier lamented that the situation is worse because the N15,000 they complain about is not even paid on time.
“As of now they still owe us September allowance, and it will be paid when we are in November, and by then, they will owe us for the month of October. That is how it has been done for many years here,” the source said.
Lamenting their helplessness, the source said, “Nigerian Army will take soldiers to Operation Flush in Bauchi State, and the soldiers will use their salaries to feed themselves for almost three months before they would be paid one month allowance and owed two months despite the current cost of living.
“A soldier will be taken for an operation and he will feed himself, which is not done anywhere in the Nigerian Army. It is only in Operation Flush in Bauchi State that you can find such a treatment.
“We have been part of many operations in the Nigerian Army and if they owe operation allowance, they will make sure you are being fed no matter how bad the food may be.”
The soldiers disclosed that units that under Operation Flush are 211 Demon BN, 133 SF BN, 331 Arty Regt, 332 Arty Regt and 333 Arty Regt.
Identifying the poor welfare of soldiers as one of the reasons behind soldiers’ involvement in criminal activities, one of the sources said, “How can you have a soldier as part of an operation without feeding them and expect them to give you the best? Our generals don’t care about their soldiers’ welfare which characterises the endemic corruption in the Army today. It is too much.
“We, therefore, call on the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency, Ahmed Bola Tinubu; Governor of Bauchi State, His Excellency Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed; the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa; and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja to remove the 33 Artillery Brigade Commander and constitute an investigation panel to probe his corrupt activities.”
When SaharaReporters sought the reaction of the Nigerian Army Authorities, through the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, he described Operation Flush as a private arrangement sponsored by the Bauchi State government.
Brig. Gen. Nwachukwu in his response to SaharaReporters’ inquiry, stated that Operation Flush was a private arraignment of the Bauchi State government, adding that feeding allowance under the arrangement is N500 daily per head, which amounts to N15,000 a month.
He said, “Let me first establish the fact that the welfare of troops tops the agenda of the current leadership of the Nigerian Army and so far, all allowances and monthly salaries have been paid as and when due.
“The allowance for Operation Flush Out in Bauchi State is N500 daily (amounting to N15,000 monthly) per head. It is paid by the state government because it is a state-sponsored internal security operation and the information reaching me is that the allowances have been paid. I must emphasize that Operation Flush Out is state-sponsored.
“The troops in Bauchi used to be part of the defunct Operation Lafiya Dole but are no longer under the current Operation Hadin Kai responsible for the Counter-Terrorism Counter Insurgency Operations in NE (North East). The Bauchi troops, therefore are not entitled to allowance paid to troops of Operations Hadin Kai.”