More than 500 soldiers who fled from Monguno as Islamist insurgents attacked the town three days ago are now stranded in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The soldiers fled from Monguno after Boko Haram fighters sacked their military base, sending soldiers and thousands of civilians on the run last Sunday.
Some of the soldiers were seen roaming the streets of Maiduguri, with some claiming that they ran from their base after they ran out of bullets during a fierce battle with Islamist militants. The soldiers said they went to Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri to report themselves, but claimed they were denied entry into the barracks.
“Some of us had finished all our bullets and we didn’t have spare ones, so that is why we left Monguno,” one of the soldiers told our correspondent. He added: “On getting to headquarters [Maimalari barracks] they refused to clear us. Please how can we fight when we are not empowered?”
Another soldier who spoke to SaharaReporters said it was really unfortunate that they were being ignored as if they deliberately decided to lose their barracks to Boko Haram fighters. “Some of our regular soldiers were killed in the course of defending this nation,” he said. Now we are roaming the streets of Maiduguri as if it [was] our fault. But our big officers refused to give us weapons to fight Boko Haram,” he added.