Foreign Mercenaries Claims Are Propaganda.- Troops Discover Bomb Factory In Yobe - DHQ

Claims that the country’s authorities are deploying hundreds of foreign mercenaries to fight the Boko Haram insurgence have been described as frivolous and an attempt to portray the Nigerian military in bad light.

Senior military commanders described the claims which were reported in select international media and culled by some local newspapers as “a joke taken too far”.

The officers however said that the so called mercenaries are foreign technical advisers that are providing trainings and instructions on the use of new armaments recently procured by the Nigerian military in the war on terror.

Some top commanders who spoke with the media under the condition of anonymity, disclosed that it is part of propaganda to paint Nigerian military as incompetent to deal with the insurgency by desperately ascribing recent successes recorded to ‘others,’ rather than the gallant troops’ efforts.

The source alluded that only recently, some news agencies ascribed such successes to Cameroonian, Nigerien and Chadian forces but when it became obvious that the forces of those countries were mainly fighting along their own border areas blocking free movement of terrorists, it became necessary to look for others who are helping Nigerians to fight.

It was further learnt that the foreigners spotted in Maiduguri and other areas close to the battlefront are technical partners who are helping to train Nigerian forces on how to operate and maintain the recently acquired equipment which came from different sources.

The source cited the particular example of a maintenance technician, who died recently, insisting that he was not even a combatant but a professional in fixing armoured vehicles.

The source recalled with regrets, that for several years Nigeria wasted time negotiating and appealing for equipment supply from the Western allies which he said were not only rebuffed but prevented other countries under their direct influence from selling to Nigeria.

“The fact that we have foreign experts outside the United States helping to train our troops is not a secret but it is not fair for them to embark on this blackmail simply because we got assistance from other places when they turned us down at a critical period”, the source stated.

Director of defence Information Maj Gen Chris Olukolade who was contacted on the reported mercenaries, said “Sorry, I don’t have anything about that claim. I just know that Nigerian military and security forces are putting in all their resources, training and experience acquired over the years to address the security challenges.

“Our neighbours operating under the auspices of the Multinational Joint Task Force are also backing our efforts from all our borders with them. We also have some offer of training and intelligence assistance from foreign countries. Some of these arrangements even predate the present operations.” (Leadership)