Insurgency: FG urged to recall 10,000 sacked soldiers

                             

                               The Federal Govern­ment has been im­plored to urgently recall the over 10,000 Nigerian soldiers alleged to have been unjustly dismissed from the military since 1979 to assist in combating the ris­ing insurgency in parts of the country.
The affected former soldiers, in a letter, also appealed to the National Security Council to look into the issues leading to their dismissal and temper justice with mercy by recalling them into the service, saying they had much to offer in the security sector.
                              According to the letter, the officers were trained in Nige­rian Army Drill School, Zaria and other military institutions after which they were dis­missed from service.
“Some of us have under­gone several trainings in the Nigerian School of Artillery, Kachia, Kaduna State and ac­quired unquantifiable knowl­edge during these trainings,” the letter read in part.
Meanwhile, a security ana­lyst has backed the appeal for the affected officers to be re­called, saying their re-absorp­tion into the service would help in the fight against insurgency.


“Our government has delib­erately abandoned over 10,000 of our well trained soldiers who were unjustly dismissed and we are crying wolf over insurgency by some elements. These military best hands should be re-absorbed to help contain the spread of insur­gency,” the analyst stated in Asaba.
It was gathered that a pro­cess that was initiated by the former Chief of Defence Staff, Paul Dike, to review the cases of the affected officers with a view to re-absorbing them was suspended after some of them were recalled.