According to the report, Nigeria’s government last summer stopped reporting the deaths of soldiers in its fight with Boko Haram insurgents and a splinter group that calls itself Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP.

The Wall Street Journal quoting military officials stated, “The sprawling secret graveyard in Maiduguri and an official cemetery at the base, the operational command for the north-eastern front in Borno State, now hold the bodies of at least 1,000 soldiers killed since the terror groups began an offensive last summer.”

I am not sure my husband was buried where I was shown – Woman

The newspaper said in November that one of the deceased soldiers’ wife, Mercy Tamuno, was told that her husband, Adah, had been killed in an insurgent attack on an outpost in Cross Kauwa, a town about 100 miles north of Maiduguri.

The media organisation stated, “When she demanded to see where he was buried, she was taken to the official cemetery at Maimalari, where graves are marked with plywood headstones. There she was led to a spot marked with a plastic bottle with her husband’s name written on it.”

Mrs Tamuno told the newspaper, “It was the only one marked in this way. I’m not sure it was his grave but that’s what the army told me.” The report said that two soldiers from Lance Cpl. Tamuno’s unit said he had been buried days earlier in the secret graveyard.

According to them, the plastic bottle was prepared to appease his wife. “We know he was buried in the unmarked grave. There was no funeral,” one of them said.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a 50-year-old farmer, Sarah James, said the secret cemetery at the Maimalari barracks grew as the military had expanded the site into neighbouring fields. “The farmland has been fenced off so they can bury the forces,” she said. James said she and her colleagues gave up land they had farmed for years to make way for the expansion of the base’s cemetery.

The newspaper said Nigeria’s military built a barrier to ward off what had been farmland on the northern edge of the base in Maiduguri. The report stated, “Units that have suffered casualties and declining morale aren’t in a position to attack, and are instead defending poorly constructed bases in exposed areas against an increasingly well-equipped enemy.” “There is a systemic misrepresentation of the war that is having severe tactical and operational consequences,” a former soldier, Chidi Nwaonu, was quoted to have said. He said the bravery of troops was being undermined by poor decisions of senior commanders. “It’s part cock-up, part conspiracy,” he added.

After an attack by the insurgents on the army base in Metele in November, the newspaper quoted a soldier to have said, “See the weapons they bring here. These are not working. No less than 100-plus soldiers died here. Many are missing in action; they are nowhere to be found.”

Military said my brother was fine until I saw him killed in B’Haram video – Journalist

It said that a journalist based in Abuja, Timothy Olanrewaju, said the military told him that his brother, a sergeant, was safely on deployment.

It added that Olanrewaju could not reach his brother, Sgt. Samuel Olanrewaju, for four months, but commanders repeatedly assured him that his brother was well, stationed in a sensitive combat zone.

According to the report, Olanrewaju learned of his brother’s fate when the Islamic State published a video that showed his execution. “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said. “Why didn’t they tell me the truth?” he asked.

The newspaper stated, “The military’s secrecy about casualties is so widespread it is unclear whether Nigeria’s political leaders are aware of the state of the conflict. We could see the headlamps and the torches of the engineering division digging the graves,” said a soldier.

Although Buhari had said that insurgents had been defeated, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, in June said soldiers’ lack of commitment was affecting the war against insurgency.

The Presidency directed The PUNCH to the Defence Headquarters to address the issue, adding that it was a military matter.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, stated, “On the issue of (1,000) soldiers, talk to the military. Talk to the Defence Headquarters about this.”

Military buries soldiers with gun salutes, not secret graves – DHQ

In its reaction, the Defence Headquarters said it had no graveyards where soldiers were secretly buried, noting that fallen heroes were honoured with gun salutes, solemn prayers, among others.

The military denied the allegation in a release by the acting Director, Defence Information, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, on Thursday, saying that soldiers who paid the supreme price were given their “last respects in a befitting military funeral ceremony of international standard.”

Nwachukwu noted that the Maimalari cemetery, described in the publication, was not secretbut the military officially-designated cemetery for soldiers in the North-East theatre, with a “cenotaph erected in honour of our fallen heroes.”

Nwachukwu said, “The Defence Headquarters has noted with dismay an article purporting that the Nigerian military maintains secret graveyards in the North-East theatre of operation. The Armed Forces of Nigeria have a rich and solemn tradition for the interment of our fallen heroes. Therefore, it must be unambiguously clarified that the Armed Forces do not indulge in secret burials, as it is sacrilegious and a profanity to the extant ethos and traditions of the Nigerian military.

“In tandem with the traditions of the Armed Forces, fallen heroes are duly honoured and paid the last respects in befitting military funerals of international standard, featuring funeral parade, grave site oration, solemn prayers for the repose of departed souls by Islamic and Christian clerics, as well as gun salutes, aside from other military funeral rites.

“The cemetery described in the publication, which is situated in Maimalari military cantonment is an officially designated military cemetery for the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the North-East theatre, with a cenotaph erected in honour of our fallen heroes. The official cemetery has played host to several national and international dignitaries, where wreaths were laid in honour of the fallen heroes. It is therefore a far cry from the sacrilegious impression being painted by the Wall Street Journal.”

Atiku calls for commission of inquiry

But the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, called on Buhari to constitute a judicial commission of inquiry headed by a non-partisan and reputable jurist, to unravel the authenticity of the report.

Atiku, in a statement, said if the report was true, he received it with a sense of heartbreak and shock.

According to him, it is heart-breaking for the families and friends of those soldiers who, if the report was true, had lost their loved ones, without being allowed to bury them or even to have any sense of closure as regards their fate.

He said, “I shudder to think that the cover-up of such an event of epic proportions can be true. The men and women of our armed forces are our first, second and last defence against our domestic and foreign enemies and should be treated with love, respect, dignity and appreciation for the invaluable service they render to Nigeria.”

He added. “To ensure that we get to the bottom of this matter, I urge that a Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by a non-partisan and reputable jurist, be inaugurated to investigate the findings of the Wall Street Journal.”

Guardian Newspaper: Atiku seeks probe into alleged secret burial of 1,000 soldiers

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday called for an investigation into the alleged secret burial of over 1000 Nigerian soldiers said to have been killed in the ongoing war against Boko Haram. This was contained in a personally signed statement yesterday following a report detailing the allegation in the Wall Street Journal. “Even the death of one soldier affects me. But the alleged cover-up of the deaths of scores of soldiers is a national emergency that should shock all statesmen and leaders of thoughts into action to save Nigeria.

“To ensure that we get to the bottom of this matter, I urge that a Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by a non-partisan and reputable jurist, be inaugurated to investigate the findings of the Wall Street Journal,” Atiku said.
He urged that “a panel of inquiry comprising distinguished former military officers be set up to investigate and report to Nigerians the true state of the war on terror and what must be done to ensure Nigeria brings a speedy end to the ongoing insurgency.”

The statement reads in part: “The men and women of our armed forces are our first, second and last defence against our domestic and foreign enemies and should be treated with love, respect, dignity and appreciation for the invaluable service they render to Nigeria. “I cannot fathom that in the space of a year, scores of these great patriots were killed and buried secretly without their families being told. I hesitate to believe that deceit on such a grand scale is even possible.”
A section of the report reads: “At the northern edge of this city’s sprawling military base, a vast field of churned soil conceals the hidden toll of a deadly offensive by the allies of Islamic State.

“After dark, the bodies of soldiers are covertly transported from a mortuary that at times gets so crowded the corpses are delivered by truck, according to Nigerian soldiers, diplomats and a senior government official. The bodies are laid by flashlight into trenches dug by infantrymen or local villagers paid a few dollars per shift.

“As the secret cemetery at the Maimalari barracks grows, the military has expanded the site into neighboring fields. ‘The farmland has been fenced off so they can bury the forces,’ said Sarah James, a 50-year-old farmer whose husband is a retired soldier.

“Official secrecy and a weak economy have left Nigerian soldiers poorly equipped to fight. Soldiers who would ordinarily rotate out every few months have been on active operations for years. Morale is collapsing and discipline beginning to fray, soldiers and the senior government official said.”

The Defence Headquarters, however, denied the allegation. A statement by the Director of Defence Information, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said the insinuation could only have emanated from an uninformed position.He said: “It must be unambigously clarified that the Armed Forces of Nigeria does not indulge in secret burials, as it is sacrilegious and a profanity to extant ethos and traditions of the Nigerian military. “In tandem with the traditions of the Armed Forces, fallen heroes are duly honoured and paid the last respect in befitting military funeral of international standard.“It features funeral parade, gravesite oration, solemn prayers for the repose of departed souls by Islamic and Christian clerics, as well as gun salutes, aside from other military funeral rites.”

Nwachukwu said the cemetery described in the publication, located at Maimalari Cantonment, is an officially designated military cemetery for the Armed Forces in the northeast theatre, with a cenotaph erected in honour of the fallen heroes.He explained that the official cemetery has played host to several national and international dignitaries, where wreaths were laid in honour of fallen troops. “It is therefore a far cry from the sacrilegious impression being painted by the Wall Street Journal. The Defence Headquarters therefore urges members of the Armed Forces and the public to disregard such a misinformed publication and see it as a figment of the imagination of the writer, whose knowledge of military values, ethos and traditions is grossly misplaced.”

Meanwhile, a partnership between security solutions company, Risk Control Services, and Yaba College of Technology yesterday highlighted the huge gap in the training of personnel and managers as a major culprit in the worrying insecurity in Nigeria.

This was as a minister-designate and a former deputy governor of Plateau State, Pauline Tallen, gave the assurance that President Muhammadu Buhari’s new cabinet would successfully tackle the menace.She gave the affirmation at the presentation of a book, Thy Will Be Done, marking the ordination anniversary of John Cardinal Onaiyekan in Abuja.

Sun Newspaper: ‘We’ll continue protesting’ –El-Zakzaky’s daughter vows

There is palpable tension in the fold of the  proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) otherwise known as Shi’ites, as daughter of leader of detained leader of the group, Suhaila Zakzaky, has vowed to continue their street protesters till her father is released.

Suhaila spoke, yesterday, in reaction to a statement from Ibrahim Musa, president of the IMN media forum, that the protests have been suspended as a result of “some new openings into the resolution of the problems” involving the proscription of its activities.

Musa had said the truce on street protests, which came after the Federal Government declared the group a terrorist organisation following the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, was as a result of “some new openings into the resolution of the problems” involving the proscription of its activities.

The announcement came a week after Federal Government and security forces proclaimed the IMN a terrorist organisation and vowed to treat its members as enemy of the state.

But reacting via a video she released on Wednesday, Suhaila said Musa cannot speak on behalf of the group. She said his comments were not the official view of the Islamic movement and that the protests would continue. “Even as I speak right now, earlier today, there was a protest in Abuja and there will be tomorrow. “And there will continue to be on every weekday. I just wanted to clarify because I saw news agencies stating that spokesperson of this movement released the statement.