General Tukur Buratai, Chief of
Army
General Tukur Buratai, Chief of
Army Staff
Again, Army Rejects Report on Secret Military
Cemetery
The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a
mischievous Article titled, Secret Military Cemetery Conceals Toll
of Islamist Insurgency in Nigeria, was written by Joe Parkinson and
released on 31 Jul 19 in “The Wall Street Journal”. The writer
alleged that the bodies of dead soldiers are covertly transported
from a mortuary, delivered by truck and laid by flashlights into
trenches dug by infantry or local villagers paid a few dollars by
shift. It also alleged that soldiers were buried in unmarked graves
at night in secret graves.
Similarly, it alleged that Nigerian Government last summer
stopped reporting the deaths of soldiers in its fight against Boko
Haram. Likewise, it claimed that the operational command holds the
bodies of 1000 soldiers killed since the terror groups began
offensive last summer. Additionally, it reported on one Mercy
Tamuno, who demanded to see where her husband was buried, and she
was led to a spot marked with a plastic bottle with her husbands
name written on it. It further claimed that 2 soldiers from the
late soldiers unit said the bottle was prepared to appease his
wife. Furthermore, the writer made some derogatory comments on
rotation of troops, gruesome punishments to suspected jihadists and
declining morale of own troops.
Having critically studied the allegations, it was obvious that
the writer’s claims were baseless and intended to smear the good
image of the NA and lower the moral component of troops in the
ongoing Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency operations. In
this light, I wish to respond on behalf of the NA as follows:
Maimalari Military Cemetery is the only recognized place where
burials are held in the Theatre. The stretch of land where the
cemetery is located and produce beyond belongs to the NA and not
taken over from any person or group of persons as claimed. This
area like in other armies is secured to honour and give recognition
to the sacrifices of officers and soldiers who paid the supreme
price by laying down their lives for the peace, security and unity
of the country. In our own case, a hall of fame was also built in
the cemetery to honour the fallen heroes and act as reference point
for posterity.
Burial procedure in the NA is entrenched in the NA
Administrative Policies and procedures. The procedures is triggered
by first notifying the higher headquarters and NOKs of the deceased
personnel for coordination. It is a command responsibility and
attended by officers and soldiers of the unit within the Theatre of
operations. The timings for all burials in the Theatre have always
been before the flags are lowered in the evening.
Maimalari cemetery is partitioned into 2 to accommodate
Christians and Islam faithfuls. The graves are also partitioned,
and grave pegs placed to mark each grave. Hence, the claims that
soldiers were buried in unmarked graves at night in secret graves
is unfounded. Suffice to state that all deceased are also honoured
with the 21 gun salute in line with the ethics and traditions of
the NA. As such, one wonder how the firing could be done in secret
contrary to NA traditions. Certainly, commanders on their own
cannot carry the corpses to the cemetery without the knowledge and
support of the troops. If this is done with the awareness of the
troops, certainly it would not have been a secret. Likewise, if not
done with their knowledge, the commander on his own would not be
able to drive the vehicle, carry the corpses, dig the graves and
also bury the bodies without any support. Thus, this allegation is
not only worrisome but also questionable. More especially when we
have the Governor, Service Chief, Principal Staff Officers from
Service Headquarters, Commanders, NOKs, families and members of the
press that did attend funeral ceremonies of fallen heroes.
On the allegation that Nigerian Government last summer stopped
reporting the deaths of soldiers in its fight against Boko Haram is
also disturbing. Generally, events and lessons learnt from battles
have shown that death in combat is inevitable. In as much as the NA
tries to reduce casualties in the battle against the insurgents, it
still happens as one of the hazards of war fighting. Obviously,
when such occurrences happen, it is made known to higher
headquarters to trigger burial procedures and processing of
benefits. This is also done with the consent of the NOKs and not in
the secret. Soldiers also move in pairs or in groups, as such one
wonder how the corpses could be isolated without the knowledge of
their colleagues, which would have dampened their morale to fight
or take orders from their superiors.
The claim that the operational command holds the bodies of 1000
soldiers killed since the terror groups began offensive last summer
is just unbelievable. The questions are where, when, why and for
what reason would 1,000 bodies be kept in the hide without anyone
seeing it or perceiving the smell. Curtaining, this allegation
further buttress the fact that the writer intends to smear the good
image of the NA and the Government.
The report that one Mercy Tamuno, who demanded to see where her
husband was buried, and she was led to a spot marked with a plastic
bottle with her husbands name written on it is again unbelievable.
Interestingly, 13NA/70/9866 LCpl Adah Tamuno, whose wife; Mrs Mercy
Tamuno claimed her husband was buried in the secret grave gave
false report. The late gallant( soldier was serving with 119 TF Bn
at Metele and died during combat. He was officially buried on 29
Nov 18 at the Maimalari Military Cemetery with proper military
honour by daylight with the grave well marked, not with a plastic
bottle, alongside his colleagues. Pictures of the grave are hereby
attached. The last burial in the Theatre was that of Capt A
Mohammed who was killed on 17 Jul 19 in an ambush alongside with
Col EE Elemele and 5 others along Jakana-Benisheik MSR. The Capt
was buried on 18 Jul 19 at the Maimalari Military Cemetery in
accordance with Islamic rites. The burial was attended by the
families of the deceased and other sympathizers.
The writer made some derogatory comments on rotation of troops,
gruesome punishments to suspected jihadists and declining morale of
own troops. Suffice to state that the NA has a standing policy on
the rotation of troops in the Theatre. The last rotation of
de-inducted troops was conducted on 28 Jul 19 and the troops are
currently at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji undergoing
de-induction training. The next batch of troops to be inducted are
already at the Nigeria Army Special Forces Training School at Buni
Yadi for induction training, after which they would be moved to the
Theatre for deployment. The pictures of the rotated troops are also
available and hereby attached. In terms of the gruesome punishments
to captured insurgents, one wonders why the writer decided to
contradict himself in the article by reporting the immoral
activities of the insurgents. The NA is a professional Army and
captured insurgents are treated in line with global best practices
and in accordance with International Humanitarian Laws. Above all,
the morale of troops in the theatre remains high and not as
reported. It is obvious that the essence of the report is to
distract own troops from maintaining the tempo in the ongoing
operations.
The public is hereby advised to disregard the allegations as
written by Joe Parkinson and released on 31 Jul 19 in The Wall
Street Journal. The NA remain resolute in its fight against the
insurgents and will never be distracted by media propaganda. The
threat to the national security of our beloved country require that
all hands are on deck to win the war against terrorism and
insurgency.
Governor, Service Chief, Principal Staff Officers from Service
Headquarters, Commanders, Next of kins, families as well as members
of the Press attend befitting funeral ceremonies of fallen heroes
with Gun Salute as shown in the pictures below.
AD ISA
Colonel
Deputy Director Public Relations, Operation LAFIYA DOLE