THE Nigerian Army plays the critical role of maintaining the territorial integrity of the country, protecting Nigeria’s borders, as well as defending the country from external aggression. However in the past few years, there has been a noticeable trend of killing of soldiers and other security personnel while carrying out their constitutional duties mostly due to the scourge of insecurity that has remained intractable for over a decade.
Most worrisome is the fact that these soldiers died not in the theatre of war but in the line of duty. The situation is pathetic considering the place of soldiers in the development of the country. They are trained at a great cost because of the role they play in preserving and maintaining the territorial integrity of Nigeria, hence the death of a soldier is always counted as a great loss to the nation.
In the North Central region, 19 Soldiers were killed at Zaki- Ibiam in Benue State in October 2018, while 36 soldiers were killed in an ambush by armed group who shut down their helicopter in Wushishi district of Niger State in August 2023. A Lieutenant and six soldiers were killed by Boko Haram terrorists along Biu- BuniYadi road Borno state in the month of April 2024 and over 20 Nigerian Soldiers were also killed by bandits in Jibia district of Northern Katsina state in July, 2020, including the April 2022, militants attack on Nigerian military base in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna state which led to the death of 17 soldiers. The killing of soldiers also pervaded the Southern part of the country as two soldiers lost their lives to the activities of unknown gunmen in Imo state in the month of May 2022. Just recently, four soldiers were killed by unknown gunmen in Aba, Abia state in the month of March this year, likewise the killing of 17 soldiers who were said to be on a peace mission in Okuama community, Delta State.
It is understandable that the security challenges confronting the nation made it imperative for the authorities to deploy soldiers to complement the efforts of the police, who seem to have been overwhelmed by the worsening problem of insecurity. But the country can not continue to loose its soldiers who have been made vulnerable to attacks as a result of going outside their core rules of engagement to assist the police in the maintenance of peace and security.
We urge the federal government to put machinery in motion to increase the number of police personnel so that they can effectively carry out their constitutional responsibilities, while the soldiers face their defined constitutional duties. Their involvement in Joint Task Force operations and checkpoint duties exposes them to attacks as they are supposed to be in their barracks except when there is an assignment that has to do with their core mandate.
To reduce the killing of soldiers on assignments, we call on the Military authorities to try and review the rules governing the deployment of personnel to ensure the safety of officers while on duties and to demonstrate more commitment to non- kinetic strategies in relating with the civilian populace.
