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Lagos — Nigeria’s army says it is firing many senior officers accused of corruption and stealing billions of dollars meant to buy arms to fight the Boko Haram Islamic insurgency. Army spokesperson Colonel Sani Kukesheka Usman says “quite a number” were sacked on Friday, mainly major generals, brigadier generals, colonels, lieutenant colonels and one major.
He says some were handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly diverting billions meant to buy weapons. He says others played partisan roles in the 2015 elections. Usman did not name those fired in a statement on Saturday. Among officers on trial for corruption is former chief of defence staff Alex Badeh.
President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed corruption for the previous government’s failures to curb the Boko Haram Islamic insurgency centred in the northeast. Meanwhile, Niger’s defence minister says his country and Chad will send troops to neighbouring Nigeria to fight Boko Haram extremists.
Hassoumi Massaoudou said that the military deployment by the two countries was meant to secure their borders from Islamic extremists, who have staged several attacks in recent weeks in Niger, including one in Bosso that killed at least 26 soldiers.
He would not give more details on the number of soldiers, or their timing, but said they would remain in Nigeria’s Borno state until the zone was secured. The two countries, along with Cameroon and Nigeria, are part of a multinational force committed to fighting Boko Haram. The seven-year insurgency by the Nigeria-based extremists has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced 2.7 million people.
Online Reporter