The Nigerian military has arrested 18 soldiers and 15 mobile policemen for allegedly supplying arms and ammunition to non-state actors.
The Staff Officer Grade Two, OPERATION HADIN KAI (OPHK), Major Ademola Owolana, who disclosed this on Thursday, while briefing defence correspondents on the activities of the Joint Task Force North-East operation from 2024 to 2025, who were on a fact-finding mission to the theatre of operation in Maiduguri, stated that 8 civilians, including a traditional ruler, were among those arrested, adding that a stringent measure is being put in place for culprits.
It will be recalled that only last week, Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, raised the alarm that some military officers and politicians are informants and collaborators for the terrorists following the resurgence of attacks in the state.
Also, the Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, Major-General Abdulsalam Abubakar, on Tuesday, attributed the escalated threat posed by terrorist groups like the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jamatu Ahli Al-Sunna lil Da’wa Wal Jihad (JAS) better known as Boko Haram, to the infiltration of foreign mercenaries in the joint operations area. He said the foreign mercenaries facilitate tactical and strategic training for these terrorists, leading to the use of drones in the theatre.
According to Owolana, the arrest were were recorded under Operation Snowball, which was launched in August 2024 to counter ammunition racketeering in the theatre, adding that the operation was being conducted across 11 states: Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Enugu, Lagos, Plateau, Kaduna, Rivers, Taraba and the Federal Capital Territory as the states where some of the suspects were arrested while carrying out their nefarious activities.
He emphasised that the lucrative nature of trading in ammunition is also a driving factor for its persistence, adding that the theatre also recorded significant progress in the fight against terrorists’ logistics suppliers and their collaborators.
The senior officer revealed that one Sgt. Ameh Raphael, an armourer of the 7 Division Garrison, who has been in the trade since 2018, and Sgt. Seidi Adamu of 3rd Division Ordnance Services, who has also been in the trade since 2022, had over N45 million and N34 million respectively in their accounts.
Owolana further disclosed that the investigation also revealed that a whopping sum of N135 million was discovered to have passed through the account of a policeman identified as Insp. Enoch Ngwa, who was arrested for arms racketeering.
“A few soldiers motivated by greed are involved in ammunition racketeering, deliberately diverting arms from the military stockpiles and supply chains to terrorists. Such actions erode battlefield morale, reduce troops’ effectiveness, and strengthen enemy resistance”, Owolana said, citing the most recent incident which occurred on 24th February this year, when a soldier of 144 Battalion was arrested with 30 rounds of 7.62mm specials at Tashin-Karo, Kano by a military police K-19 on route search operations.
“Consequently, the theatre has continued to warn troops at all levels of the severe repercussions and sanctions of ammunition racketeering. Those found culpable have been dismissed and handed over to the police to serve as a deterrent,” he said.
