- The director, Army public relations, Brig.-Gen Sani Usman, said the rotation of its troops deployed in the northeast, has no specific time frame
- Usman, however, said there are provisions where soldiers are allowed to go on passes whenever the need arises
- According to him, the troops are fighting a war and are defending the territorial sovereignty of the country
The rotation of its troops deployed in the northeast, has no specific time frame, the Nigerian Army said, also noting that soldiers could get a leave or pass from the theatre, depending on their circumstances, The Punch reports.
Brig.-Gen Sani Usman, the director, Army public relations, speaking in an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme Sunrise Daily, on Tuesday, December 11, said the rotation was not practicable because some soldiers in the northeast theatre of war were specialists, “whose jobs are very critical to the performance of a particular unit and formation.”
The director on the Metele attack, insisted that the army lost 23 personnel, saying any other figure given must not be trusted.
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When asked how long the soldiers in the northeast could be deployed, Usman said, “If you are talking about the duration, there is no specific time frame. However, there are provisions where soldiers are allowed to go on passes whenever the need arises.
"They are also allowed to go on a leave. I know they are also given two to three weeks depending on the circumstances and exigencies at hand.
“Basically, people have an erroneous impression that a soldier goes on tour of duty for six months or weeks and comes back, it is not true. The bottom line is that we are fighting a war and we are defending the territorial sovereignty of our country.”
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In a previous report by Legit.ng, the Nigerian Army has denied its purported indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes.
The army spokesman, Brigadier-General Sani Usman, insisted that there is no credible evidence to back such claims. Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme Sunrise Daily, Usman said contrary to the reports, army personnel in the north-east have been professional in their conduct.
His words: “There are two things to it, one, they are accusing the army of not trying high-level Boko Haram terrorist, that is beyond the Nigerian military. Then secondly, if again the government is shielding some Nigerian military officers, again it is beyond the Nigerian military.”
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Source: Legit.ng