MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA — 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. Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor, the
theater 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.
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, Lt. Gen. 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.
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