227 Soldiers Protest Dismissal by 3 Armoured Division
About 227 members of the Nigerian Army serving with 3 Armoured Division
in Jos, who were allegedly dismissed by the military authorities,
Friday protested against their General Officer Commanding (GOC) and
asked for the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan.
The soldiers who stormed the Plateau State NUJ Secretariat in Jos with
placards said they were unjustly dismissed without any known offence and
without the benefit of fair hearing.
The leader of the protesting soldiers, Sergeant Abiona Elisha, said,
“We were dismissed this week Tuesday from the service of the Nigerian
Army after sending us to go and suffer fighting insurgency in Adamawa,
Yobe and Borno States.
“All of a sudden, we were recalled to the barracks and made to face
trial. Even in the trial, we were not given the chance to defend
ourselves. They just took decision and dismissed us. We were not even
told what our offences were during the so-called trial.
“We are surprised that we can be treated like this in our own country.
We were sent to fight insurgents without weapons. A lot of our
colleagues were killed in the course of defending our fatherland. Even
those who are in hospitals treating injuries they sustained from battle
fields were also dismissed while still on hospital admission.
“The worst situation is that families of our colleagues killed in
Adamawa and Yobe are languishing in hunger as Nigerian Army refused to
pay their entitlements.“
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