A detachment of Nigerian troops fired gunshots into the air on Sunday at the Maiduguri airport in protest against their redeployment to the frontline of the conflict against Boko Haram militants.
It was gathered that the soldiers refused to board the plane that was to transfer them from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, to the town of Marte, close to the border with Niger.
Witnesses said the soldiers were shooting for around four hours from 18:30 local time (1730 GMT), news agency Reuters reports.
“We are angry and that is why we are shooting. Why are they taking us again to another place after spending about four years?” said a soldier, adding that they had previously been told they would only fight insurgents for a maximum of three years.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
However, Onyema Nwachukwu, Deputy Director Public Relations, Operation Lafiya Dole Theatre Command explained that the redeployment became necessary after an assessment of the security situation, adding that some of the soldiers misunderstood the whole arrangement.
“The redeployment became expedient after a recent assessment of the security situation by the Theatre Command,” Nwachukwu, a Colonel, explained in a statement on Monday.
“Regrettably however, a few of the troops who had misunderstood the development and erroneously assumed it was going to negatively affect their rotation from the theatre of operation became agitated and reacted by firing into the air.
“Calm has however been restored, as the Theatre Commander, Major General Abba Dikko has promptly taken charge of the situation after addressing and admonishing the troops.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
“The Theatre Command undoubtedly considers this ugly incident quite regrettable and appropriate measures are being taken to forestall a recurrence.”
Mr Nwachukwu urged members of the public not to be scared of going about their legitimate businesses in and around the airport.
Donate to Precision
