Another Mutiny By Soldiers Of The 7th Division In Maimalari Barracks

There was another protest by soldiers in the Maimalari Barracks against their new  GOC. You would recall, it was as a result of a mutiny that the then GOC, Major Gen. Mohammed was relieved of his duties. Well the soldiers  once again rebelled against the leadership in the barracks. 

According to  SaharaReporters  the soldiers’ second act of mutiny in two weeks began around 3:00 p.m. (Nigerian time). The angry soldiers blew a whistle, and most of the rank and file gathered at a spot before they marched en masse to the 7th Division headquarters building where the GOC’s office is located. 

The sources said the sources shot in the air as they marched and chanted “We no gree oh, we no gree!” Our sources said the protesting soldiers were upset about the army’s failure to pay their outstanding allowances. They were also annoyed by the decision of the newly posted GOC to ban motorcycles as a form of transport within the barracks. 

The new GOC reportedly banned motorbikes known as Okada and tricycles known as “Keke NAPEP” from operating within the vast barracks. The soldiers wondered why the new commander would prohibit the use of the only affordable means of transport they have when he knows full well that the base covers a huge area and that few soldiers own cars or bike.

“If no okada [motorcycles] are allowed, then our small children have to walk to school and our wives will walk to market,” one of the soldiers told SaharaReporters. “Are we not suffering too much already?” he added.

Once they arrived at the GOC’s office, the protesting soldiers decided to give him a dose of the experience of navigating within the barracks without motorcycles. They ordered Major General XYZ to come outside the building, pushing and shoving him.  Then they forced him to trek all through the barracks.

The angry soldiers also demanded the payment of their N100, 000 furniture allowance which, according to them, was long overdue.

One of the soldiers who spoke to SaharaReporters stated that he and his colleagues want military authorities to be more focused in their approach to the war against Boko Haram. “We can finish them [Boko Haram] without difficulty, but the commanders don’t give us enough weapons for operations. And they send only a few of us to fight hundreds of Boko Haram fighters,” he said.