10 soldiers attached to the 143 Battalion of the Nigerian Army have reportedly been in detention since July 15 for allegedly protesting against poor feeding, lack of special promotion and poor welfare on the battlefield. 

The soldiers who were inducted into operation Lafiya Dole in Adamawa State on November 30, 2014, and subsequently advanced to Madagali and Limankara in Borno State, made the complaint on social media. They raised an alarm of overstaying in their unit for over four years without rotation as against the two-year rotational principle in the embattled North-East region. 

Punch reported that the posts which were shared on social media prompted an investigation and detention of the soldiers linked to the posts it. 

“However, on July 15, 2019 when 144 Battalion finally changed the 143 battalions from operation back to their unit as a result of the said articles, the 10 soldiers in the unit were held back and subsequently arrested and accused of masterminding the write-up on the grounds that they had earlier decried their poor feeding in a WhatsApp group,” a source said. 

There are fears that the soldiers who have been moved to 7 Division Military Police guardroom in Borno State might have a prolonged detention without trial as President Buhari has allegedly been antagonistic against dissenting voices and criticisms.