Some soldiers who survived the attack by Boko Haram on the military formation in Metele have sent an SOS to President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to probe the quality of weapons procured by the military authorities and save them from further avoidable deaths.
In a video sent to journalists in Maiduguri, the soldiers accused the military authorities of providing them with obsolete weapons, which they said are grossly inadequate to effectively confront the insurgents in the ongoing counter insurgency campaign in the Northeast.
In the amateur video footage, the soldiers also levelled allegations against the military authorities accusing them of negligence which resulted into the death of scores of their colleagues in a series of attacks coordinated by the Albarnawi faction of the Boko Haram at Metele in Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno.
Foreign wire agencies reported that dozens of soldiers were killed when the insurgents attacked Metele military base on November 18, 2018.
In the video, two soldiers, who claimed to be among the survivors of the attack, narrated the precarious condition of the troops and obsolete equipment which made it difficult for them to repel the insurgents’ attack.
The video footage showed the level of destruction of military equipment and makeshift shelters, while soldiers were seen packing their luggages, apparently preparing to live the camp.
In the video, the soldiers appealed to President Buhari—they repeatedly appealed to him— to intervene to save the situation from deteriorating.
“See what the Nigerian Army has been doing to us, they brought us here. See how they killed our fellow soldiers, they burn them inside the tanks”, a narrator in the video said.
“They are using us to make money; why? Are we not human beings? They can kill soldiers inside a tank; if Rocket Propelled Grenade, RPG, can penetrate M-RAG vehicle, what of a fellow human being?
“This is the location called ‘Metele’, This is a place they (the insurgents) took over 40 barrel and these people want to use us, and within one week they killed over 200 soldiers and we are now 147, they want to waste us here. It is a lie, our blood is not here.
“This is a Third World vehicle, a tank manufactured in 1972; and Albarnawi broke all of it.They want to use us and we are not getting anything from them.We want to tell the government of our condition.
“Please; the Federal Government should intervene before the insurgents come and kill us. They mocked us and said we are Zombies; animals, we do not know our rights, any order given to us we will follow.
“We are millennium soldiers, most of us are graduates.
“Look at what they did to this T12 tank; it is obsolete. It was a 1983 Czechoslovakian tank procured during Shagari’s regime. Is this the money the Federal Government provided to procure weapons?
“All the equipment are not working. When it fired two shots it stopped. All the weapons are obsolete and bought during Shagari(1979-1983).
“We know about the money the Federal Government gave to them but the Nigerian Army had turned us into a business”.
“All the money federal government gave them to buy weapons… Nigerian Army is buying INNOSON…. All these are obsolete… Oyinbo came here and said they are obsolete. All these weapons were bought during the Shagari regime in 1983. They have turned us to business. Federal Government you will hear about it. All these weapons are not genuine…if you fire two times you have stoppages.
“This is 1983 when Shagari was head of state… Federal Government give them money, they go and buy INNOSON, Nigerian made… Federal Government please help us… help us.”
The Nigeria Army on Friday, November 23, 2018, confirmed on its Twitter handle the attack on 157 Task Force Battalion at Metele, on November 18, 2018, by Boko Haram insurgents.
However, the military authorities response, which came five days after, was short on details and the extent of casualties.
In his reaction, President Muhammadu Buhari expressed deep shock over the killing of military personnel in Metele village by Boko Haram terrorists.
He gave an assurance that immediate measures are being taken to ensure that the loopholes which led to the fatalities are blocked once and for all.
Reacting to the tragic incident, the President said that his administration remains ever committed and focused on the security of military personnel and other citizens.
