The Nigerian Army has given an order to declare wanted 101 soldiers who fled the Boko Haram terrorists’ attacks in New Marte and Dikwa towns near Maiduguri in Borno State.
The army, through the Operation Lafiya Dole Theatre Command, also ordered that their bank accounts should be frozen pending when they would report themselves to the command.
Military documents obtained by Peoples Gazette confirmed a list of 101 names, ranks and bank details of errant soldiers.
The Theatre Command Headquarters sent a memo to the Nigerian Army Headquarters, Abuja, to freeze the listed accounts and apprehend the alleged deserters if found.
“You are requested to declare the named officers and soldiers deserters WEF 19 Feb 21,” the document said. You are also please requested to cause the headquarters, NAFC, to freeze their accounts and apprehend or bring them under military escort to this headquarters if seen within your Area of Responsibility,” the military memo said.
The soldiers of 153 Task Force Battalion were ambushed in Marte Local Government Council, late last month, as the troops were overwhelmed and could not match the ammunition carried by the terrorists.
After Marte was captured by Boko Haram, the Chief of Army Staff, Maj Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, had given troops of Operation Lafiya Dole 48 hours to clear insurgents off Marte LGA and surrounding communities under the insurgents’ control.
The villages under the terrorists control were the Kirenowa, Kirta, Wulgo and Ngala local government areas of the state.
The soldiers went through Marte, successfully killing the ISWAP and Boko Haram terrorists who captured the area for some days.
Also, Dikwa was attacked by the insurgents earlier this week and abducted no fewer than seven humanitarian workers from the town.
It was learnt that the aid workers were picked up by the terrorists who were dressed in military camouflage and spoke “good English.”
Although the military claimed on Tuesday that its troops repelled the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province terrorists’ attack on Dikwa, it was silent on the whereabouts of the reportedly abducted aid workers.
Reacting to the attack, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nigeria condemned the burning of the UN property.