INVESTIGATION: How soldiers fighting Boko Haram beg for food and sleep in classrooms bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
“For months now, we’ve not been paid our allowance. How would we have survived if not for the small money that we see from this sport betting?” Gandoki asks, smiling his way to a bar close to where his unit is camped. bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
His predictions on matches in European football league have so far won him almost half the amount of allowance owed him by the @HQNigerianArmy . bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
A standard soldiers’ footwear is dark green camouflage shoes but some who are fighting #BokoHaram walk into battle with open-toe slippers. Soldiers in the trenches would reveal that being ‘poorly kitted’ in the army is an understatement. bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
“Kitting of soldiers? You are on your own,” Gandoki jeers. Then, he yells: “We have our special uniforms that we use as special force soldiers. But nowadays, none of us is still that specially kitted. bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
“We go for parameter patrol without night vision goggles. We go in blindly, and because we are not equipped with these night vision goggles, Boko Haram will be approaching your camp in the night and you will not see them until they are already closer, firing at you.”
[INFOGRAPHICS] Nigeria soldiers allowance: Quick facts bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
“On this first assignment to the bush, some died and, luckily, some of us returned alive. If you see the kind of food they would eventually give us, you will weep for us. There was a time we were begging our enemy for water, because we were going to die of thirst.
The military helicopter, we were told, would bring water but wouldn’t be able to land because where we are is not safe for it. And, I would ask, what about us on the ground here?” bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
“I have two gunshot wounds on my body,” he says, reaching for his leg and back where the injuries are. “There is rubber inside my leg because the vein almost cut off so they have to brace it with rubber. And, nothing has been given to me... bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
...to sort my medical bills, even when we heard that money was released to take care of some of us who have been affected.” bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
Twice, the army refused to respond to a FoI request sent for budgetary and fund release records. Same request was also sent to the office of the accountant-general of the federation, and there has been no response. bit.ly/2QP6z8o via @thecableng
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.