March 8, 2014 by Kayode Idowu
Boko Haram
There
are mounting concerns in security circles over the issue of special
arrangement for the security operatives deployed in the operational
areas in the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa which are under
emergency rule.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that low
morale occasioned by lack of motivation and poor welfare package might
be some of the factors working against the successful execution of the
war against Boko Haram militants in the zone.
The Islamic sect had killed close to
200 people in the last one and half weeks including the massacre of 53
schoolchildren in Yobe State. Thirty five persons were also killed
on Sunday during a fierce gunfight between the insurgents and soldiers
in Mafa, a community that is 45 kilometres to the east of Maiduguri in
Borno State.
The Mafa attack was the third within 24
hours in the troubled state. Last Saturday, a twin bomb attack left 52
people dead while another attack on Mainok village by the insurgents
killed 39.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that both the medical care and welfare packages for the fighting soldiers were grossly insufficient to motivate them.
Saturday Punch had in a previous
edition reported that outdated military weapons hindered effective
war against the Islamic insurgents. It was reported that the last time
serious military hardware was purchased for the Nigerian military was
during the Alhaji Shehu Shagari regime in the early 80s.
Also, Borno State Governor, Kashim
Shettima, had warned that from what he had seen, the sophistication of
the weaponry of the Boko Haram insurgents could not be compared with
that of Nigeria’s military.
But Saturday PUNCH findings
showed that apart from outdated weapons, other issues bordering on
welfare and motivation might be hindering effective war campaign against
members of Boko Haram.
Some of the soldiers who spoke to Saturday PUNCH
on the condition of anonymity, because it is against military rules for
unauthorised soldiers to speak to the press, alleged that apart from
the poor welfare package, some of the wounded soldiers pick their own
medical bills while others do not get the required comprehensive
medical attention.
It was gathered that most of those
injured in conflicts were treated at the barracks while complicated
cases were referred to government hospitals, including the University
of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
A soldier said, “Some of the injured are
compelled to pay for their drugs, they have to pay for the expensive
drugs, the only drugs available are usually paracetamol and phensic.’’
He claimed that some soldiers’ limbs had been amputated due to lack of proper medical attention.
Another soldier told our correspondent
that there was a time one of them was shot in the stomach and
admitted at the UMTH. “’When we visited him, we could not but be moved
to contribute some money towards his medical care, because he was in
great pain and had no money to treat himself.’’
Investigations revealed that since
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the three
Boko Haram endemic states on May 14, 2013, the Joint Task Force, which
assumed initial responsibility of combating the insurgents, put in place
an arrangement to pay N1,000 per day to each security operative
involved in the operation.
It was learnt that the same amount was
paid to soldiers, riot policemen, State Security Services officials and
other security operatives under the JTF.
Security sources said that while the
Federal Government paid N45,000 per month to each security operative,
the authorities deducted the sum of N15,000 from each personnel as
feeding allowances in the camps.
It was further learnt that the
allowances were paid strictly on a daily basis as N31,000 is paid for
months with 31 days; N30,000 for months with 30 days and N28,000 for the
month of February.
Investigation further revealed that the
present arrangement makes a provision of N50, 000 for the family of any
soldier or security operative who gets killed in action.
It was further learnt that no extra
financial arrangement was put in place to cushion the pains of injured
soldiers in the frequent audacious attacks of the sect.
It was also learnt that while in
principle, medical arrangement was supposed to be made available for
injured soldiers, some of them with gunshot wounds were left at the MRS.
The MRS is a short term for the traditional medical facility in any military formation in the country.
In most cases, the MRS is not equipped
to the level of a standard medical facility with the capacity that could
give adequate treatment to gunshot wounds inflicted on soldiers during
gunfights.
It was further learnt that even those
who were taken to the general hospitals where they are supposed to be
treated for free had issues with the quality and frequency of the
feeding arrangement.
It was stated that a good number of
security operatives were being lackadaisical because of the magnitude
of risk and the associated loss involved in the operation if things went
the other way.
The source said, “What they pay is N45,
000 per month to each security operative. When you say soldiers, there
is no difference between a soldier, police, SSS, immigration, customs or
any other security agent.
“Out of the N45, 000, they deduct N15, 000 per month from every operative for feeding.
“What they pay is N1,000 per day because
they pay N30, 000 when the month has 30 days and N31, 000 when the
month is 31 days. They pay according to days in the month. As for
allowances for the injured, I am not aware of any such allowances.
“If you are unlucky and you are injured,
you are taken to a general hospital, where you will be treated. They
will feed you but if you rely solely on that and you don’t have money, hunger go wire you.”
“There are also occasions when soldiers
are taken to the MRS where they simply dress the wounds if there are no
spaces in the general hospitals.
“And if a soldier or security operative
is killed, they pay N50, 000 to the family, they take the body back home
and that is it. Of course, this is apart from the entitlement of the
personnel in his service.
The source said that the issue of the
N50, 000 death allowance to the family was a major disincentive to the
soldiers and security operatives involved in the fight.
It was stated that many security
operatives were reluctant to be transferred to the operational areas
because of the feeling that N50,000 could be easily made in a
non-operational area and was not worth the risk.
In Borno State, some of the soldiers who spoke to Saturday PUNCH said they were not being paid the feeding allowance.
One of them who said, “We were
supposed to get N45,000 monthly allowance which should also take care
of our feeding but instead of getting the whole amount, we are only
paid N30,000 monthly with the understanding that the remaining N15,000
was deducted to prepare food for us.”
The soldier, who is of the infantry unit
of the Nigerian Army, said that he was returning to the troubled
Maiduguri. He explained that in his first sojourn to the troubled
region, soldiers were served thrice daily.
He said, “But now the food is brought
just once; the whole three meals are brought at the same time.’’ He
also lamented that the quality of the food was poor.
Another soldier, a Lance Corporal said,
“I just dey manage the food, it is not something that is worth the
N15,000 they are taking from me monthly but wetin man go do?”
He said he believed that the allowance was jointly contributed by the state and the Federal Government.
The soldiers described the N1,000 per
day allowance as grossly inadequate. One of them said it was generally
believed that the allowance is N5,000 daily, but that the officers
were short-changing them.
He said the most annoying thing was that
the soldiers were made to go back home empty-handed after the
exercise. The soldier, who said this was his second time of being
deployed in the state, explained that: “The other security outfits in
the Joint Task Force deployed out of the state went away with N1m when
they were being deployed from the state but those from the Army went
with nothing.”
One of the soldiers lamented that other
incentives from the governor of Borno State were not given to them by
their superiors. He said, “There was a day we went out with the
governor and he gave the officers N12,000 each for a soldier but the
officer just bought a can of coke for each of us and did not give us
anything.
“It is a pity that there is so much
corruption in the system and this is discouraging, especially at
times like this when morale should be high to deal with the
insurgents.”
The soldiers, however, said the state
governments in the region had been helpful to families of soldiers that
lost their lives in the fight against the insurgents.
“The states give N1m each to the
families of slain soldiers,’’ they said, but lamented that this,
sometimes, does not get to the family of the deceased intact, alleging
that officers sometimes give as little as N250,000 to some families.’’
When Saturday PUNCH contacted the
Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, for
comments, he said that he was not in a position to state what local and
state governments were giving to the security operatives and asked that
the inquiry be directed to them.
He stated also that the assistance being
rendered by states was not general as each state had arrangement which
might differ from the others.
Olukolade explained that the military
did not have any special conditions of service for soldiers engaging
the Boko Haram insurgents in the ongoing operation.
He said that the statutory conditions of service for the operatives were in place in the event of any incident.
He also debunked the claim that N50, 000
was the standard compensation to families who lose their members in
action, noting that the amount was dependent on the rank of the
personnel.
He said, “That is not correct, the
conditions of service apply; there is no special condition for Boko
Haram, the conditions of service apply.
“There are other entitlements and it
depends on the rank of the personnel; there is the Nigerian Army Welfare
Insurance, which is paid to them; there is Benevolent Funds which are
also paid to them.
“All of them are meant to augment other
benefits that would come up. The details of the conditions of service
for soldiers apply and they differ…
“On the issue of what states or local
governments are giving, what Borno claims to be using to assist may be
different from that of Yobe and Adamawa, it is not universal.”
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