Army Reinstates 2,500 Soldiers, 102 Officers.

The Nigerian Army has recalled over 2,500 soldiers who were asked to withdraw from service for alleged offences committed under the counter- insurgency operations code named Operation Zaman Lafiya. The review panel set up by the Army, which began sitting in Kaduna on August 17, has also screened and reinstated 102 officers, who were sentenced or facing prosecution in relation to the operations in the North-East. The reinstated soldiers and officers, it was learnt, had commenced retraining at the Nigerian Army Training Centre, Kontangora, Niger State.



The 2,500 soldiers were among the over 4,000 who responded to a memo from the Army authorities inviting soldiers for a review of recent disciplinary cases, which emanated from the counter terrorism operations. The NA had said on August 1, 2015 that the service would constitute a panel to review all recent disciplinary cases in the service. But the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, cautioned that the directive to review disciplinary cases should not be mistaken for a “total reinstatement of dismissed and deserter soldiers.”

Our correspondent learnt that more dismissed personnel of the Army might be brought back to the service as the screening panel would continue with the review of cases on Monday (today). A source in the Nigerian Army, who confided in our correspondent, said,


“The panel has cleared 2,500 soldiers who were dismissed from their units for minor offences alleged to have been committed under Operation Zaman Lafiya.The review panel also cleared 102 officers who were either asked to withdraw, dismissed or facing prosecution for various offences under the operation.”

The soldiers, who were said to have been conveyed out of the NDA, Kaduna, venue of the review panel, in luxury buses on Saturday are expected to undergo a short retraining exercise as part of the reintegration requirements into the service at the NATRAC, Kotangora. After the retraining, the Army authorities would screen the affected personnel and re-activate their suspended bank accounts.

It was further learnt that the panel would also review the cases of 66 soldiers who were sentenced to death by firing squad. The source, who spoke to one of our correspondents on Sunday, said that not all the dismissed soldiers who turned up in Kaduna were lucky to have regained their jobs.

Some of the soldiers, said to have been dismissed about 15 years ago for various offences, were asked to leave the venue of the review panel. The soldiers were said to have been dismissed from the Army for various offences since the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It was learnt that majority of the affected soldiers were dismissed from the service for violating a law said to have forbidden the personnel of the Army from marrying foreigners.

Source