- Report Released in Good Fate – TI
By Olamilekan Okeowo
The recent report released by Transparency International, TI that high level corruption in the Nigerian Army is undermining the fight against Insurgency in the country is generating unrest in the polity with the army saying the report is a calculated attempt at blocking international support in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels TV monitored by The New Diplomat, Defence Headquarters DHQ spokesman Maj. Gen John Enenche said the report was done out of malice and a calculated attempt at blocking international support in the fight against Boko Haram.
“TI’s allegations are attempts to block the current support Nigeria is getting in the war against terrorism, the allegations should be ignored by Nigerians and the international community” he said
However, in an apparent attempt to douse the tension the report has generated, the body through its Nigerian representative, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) revealed that the report covered a period of five years; 2010 to 2015.
Senior Programme Officer of CISLAC, Salahudeen Hashim said the report did not address the current leadership of the Nigerian Army and that the report addressed.
Recall that Transparency International in its report had underlined the difficulty of achieving two key promises of President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2015 election campaign: tackling endemic corruption and defeating an insurgency that has claimed over 20,000 lives and displaced millions.
“Corrupt military officials have been able to benefit from the conflict through the creation of fake defense contracts, the proceeds of which are often laundered abroad in the UK, U.S. and elsewhere,” the watchdog said in a statement.
Transparency International said this had left the military “without vital equipment, insufficiently trained, low in morale and under-resourced”.
“This has crippled the Nigerian military in fighting an aggressive ideologically inspired enemy such as Boko Haram,” the watchdog said, pointing to cases of soldiers taking on the militants without ammunition or fuel.
