B’Haram: Army chief denies engaging ex-militants, ex-servicemen

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, on Friday in Kaduna denied alleged plan to enlist 10,000 former Niger Delta militants and ex-service men to boost the fight against the current insurgency in the North-East.

The Northern socio-political organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, had on Thursday warned the authorities of the Nigerian Army against using the former militants who had benefitted from the late President Umaru Yar’Adua amnesty programme under any guise to fight the Boko Haram insurgents in the North.

The ACF, through its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, had on Thursday in Kaduna , noted that it heard of planned recall of 10,000 ex-soldiers for the purpose of fighting the terrorists.

It described the move as a welcome development, but cautioned the authorities to scrutinise those that would be recalled.

But the Chief of Army Staff, shortly after the inauguration of the Radio Diagnosis Centre of the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, asked Nigerians to discard such rumour, adding that the military had the capacity to tackle the terrorist activities.