Army recruits more men to fight Boko Haram

In a bid to effectively confront the country’s terrorism challenge, the Nigerian Army (NA) has commenced the recruitment of qualified able men into the service. Addressing a news conference in Abuja, Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Olajide Laleye said those recruited will be deployed to contain the insurrection in the north-east after their training. Laleye complained about reports in some sections of the media questioning the capability of the Army, saying the Nigerian Army remains one of the binding forces of the country’s unity. “The Nigerian Army is far from being weak and ineffective. It is unfortunate that in spite of the efforts to tackle the insecurity problem in the country, some individuals, bodies and organisations are working toward tarnishing its image,” he told NAN. “This group and their international collaborators are trying hard to portray the Nigerian military as corrupt, with myriad of problems and challenges ranging from morale of troops, equipment and troops welfare.” He enthused that the Army has performed creditably in all operations assigned to it, while its performances in peacekeeping and internal security operations have been outstanding. He assured officers that their welfare will henceforth receive priority, which is why their allowances for the month of May have been fully settled. Meanwhile, 10 Next of Kins (NOK) of soldiers who lost their lives to Boko Haram attacks in the line of duty were presented with cheques. Maj.-Gen. Bitus Kwaji, managing director of the Nigerian Army Welfare Limited, presented the cheques on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). According to Kwajji, the COAS was very passionate about the immediate NOKs getting the cheques. He said the payments were being made in three folds: Nigerian Army Welfare Insurance Payment, Benevolent Fund, and the Nigerian Army Life Policy. He also described the payment as part of a series of payments that the Army would be making to the family before the actual payment of the death benefit by the Military Pension Board. “This payment we are making today is to ensure that the families of the deceased have something to live on before they get the death benefit,” he said. “It would have been made since April but the documents and the NOKs were not available. That is why the money is being paid now. It took us quite some time before we could get the particulars of the Next of Kins.”