Nigeria’s military says some officers are selling arms and ammunition to<\/p>\n
Boko Haram, indicating the corruption bedeviling the country’s fight
\nagainst the Islamic extremists continues despite government efforts to
\nhalt graft.<\/p>\n
The admission comes three weeks after the Nigerian army said a military
\ntribunal is trying 16 officers and troops accused of offenses related to
\nthe fight against Boko Haram, including the theft and sale of ammunition.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor, the theater commander in northeastern Nigeria,
\ntold a news conference on Thursday that military authorities have
\nconfirmed that some soldiers were selling arms and ammunition to Boko
\nHaram. He called it a betrayal of the Nigerian people. He gave no more
\ndetails.<\/p>\n
President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed corruption for the deaths of
\nthousands in the seven-year Islamic uprising that has killed more than
\n20,000. Children who escaped Boko Haram are dying of starvation in refugee
\ncamps in the northeast, where the government is investigating the alleged
\ntheft of food aid.<\/p>\n
A soldier on the frontline of the fight told The Associated Press that his
\nbrigade commander is among officers standing trial at the court-martial in
\nthis northeastern city, which is being held in secret. He said the army is
\ninvestigating what happened to 21 anti-aircraft guns assigned this year to
\nhis artillery brigade. He said they only received one gun. The soldier
\nspoke on condition of anonymity because he feared he would lose his job.<\/p>\n
In addition, a slew of retired and current military officers are being
\ninvestigated for diverting hundreds of millions of dollars budgeted to
\nhelp curb the Islamic uprising. Among them is Alex Badeh, a four-star
\ngeneral whom Buhari fired from his post as chief of defense staff.
\nWitnesses have told a Federal High Court that Badeh stole the equivalent
\nof $24 million budgeted for salaries in 2013 and built a shopping mall in
\nAbuja, the capital.<\/p>\n
Civil society groups are demanding the investigation of the current chief
\nof army staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, for allegedly buying with cash two
\nproperties worth $1.5 million in Dubai. Buratai has said he bought the
\nproperty on installment with savings.<\/p>\n
Before Buhari took power, soldiers told the AP they were forced into
\nbattle with just 30 bullets each and no food rations. They said Boko Haram
\nwas better armed and that their officers were stealing parts of their
\nsalaries and allowances. Many ran away when the extremists attacked,
\nallowing Boko Haram to take control of a large swath of northeastern
\nNigeria in 2014.<\/p>\n
Under Buhari, a former military dictator, a multinational force has
\nretaken most towns but Boko Haram remains active outside urban areas,
\ncarrying out hit-and-run attacks, suicide bombings and abductions of women
\nand girls.
\nVOA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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