Troops in North-East have no specific time-frame for rotation - Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army has revealed that troops deployed to the North East have no specific time-frame for their rotation.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen Sani Usman, in an interview with Channels TV on Tuesday, revealed that rotation was not practicable because some soldiers in the North-East theatre of war were specialists. He noted that depending on the circumstance, soldiers could get a leave or a pass from the theatre.

He said, "If you are talking about the duration, there is no specific time frame. However, there are provisions where soldiers are allowed to go on passes whenever the need arises. They are also allowed to go on a leave. I know they are also given two to three weeks depending on the circumstances and exigencies at hand.

"Basically, people have an erroneous impression that a soldier goes on tour of duty for six months or weeks and comes back, it is not true. The bottom line is that we are fighting a war and we are defending the territorial sovereignty of our country."

Regarding the recent attack on soldiers in Metele, Borno State, Usman insisted that the number of soldiers killed was 23, adding that any other figure given must not be trusted.