By Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
As they have done for decades, the Nigerian Armed Forces have been at the centre of discourse in the country this week. In one week, the military has earned knocks and flowers. It is a remarkable achievement.
This is primarily due to two reasons. First, some soldiers did what soldiers are trained to do—to kill. This ironically brought so much commendation from Nigerians because the dead person happened to be a menace to society, and quite frankly, most Nigerians were delighted to see the back of him.
Second, was the revelations by one Hussaina Iliya. Her viral account had accused a senior military officer of allegedly abusing his power to detain her husband, a naval rating, Seaman Abbas Haruna, for six years. During this period, her husband had reportedly been tortured and suffered deprivation and mental illness. If you live in Nigeria, you would have heard of, or witnessed, or experienced stories of armed personnel unleashing on civilians for the most trivial reasons. So naturally, this is something all Nigerians can relate to.
If we must speak of the armed forces, we must do so from the perspective of commending their service, sacrifice, and recent successes, which I don’t think is being done enough, while also chiding and chastising them for whatever is happening with the Seaman Abbas case.
The killing of the notorious bandit and tormentor of communities in the Northwest, Halilu Sububu, and some 38 others in a joint operation led by the Nigerian Airforce Special Forces last week is a big deal.
It is not only significant in pruning the confidence of the bandits, who under Sububu’s leadership had attacked a military base in Katsina earlier this year, but it would reportedly hamper their capacity. Sububu is a noted cog in the arms trade that turned the Northwest into a terror zone. He even allegedly owns a gold mine in Zamfara and had raised many other notorious bandits, including Bello Turji, and has had the dishonour of being declared wanted by the Nigerian Armed Forces in November 2022 with a bounty of N5 million on his head.
Incidentally, on Tuesday last week, just two days before his death, he released a six-minute-long video in which he sued for peace and called for an end to attacks on communities that did not threaten the bandits’ criminal activities. Underneath this appeal though, one discerns that the appeal was conditional on terms dictated by the bandits. It did not include a promise to end his criminal activities, his surrender, or any promise of restitution. It sounded like the premonitory ramblings of a man who sensed that the end was near. Not surprising because, as they say, those who live by the sword (you know the rest). Following the operation, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, announced that he was gifting the sum of N1 million to the soldiers who took part in the operation. That amounted to approximately N38,000 per soldier if shared equally.
My understanding is that the CDS’s offer was a personal gesture of appreciation to the soldiers. However, some people thought it was too small a sum, which might be a way to avoid paying the soldiers the N5 million bounty they may be entitled to. So what did they do? They started a karo-karo collection to contribute money for the troops. These well-meaning Nigerians raised some money, but the military apparently turned it down as it has its own internal reward system for its soldiers.
I believe that the brave men and women who risked their lives for the country and the safety of other Nigerians deserve to be rewarded and recognised for their service. However, calls to action like this may have negative consequences for the system. There is an argument that the soldiers did a job they signed up for and are being paid accordingly. That is a valid point. But it is also valid to consider that the pay for the rank and file of the army is relatively low, especially when compared to the sacrifices required of them and their loved ones.
Therefore, this call to action aims to pressure the military into appreciating the services of its personnel and hopefully doing the right thing by paying out the bounty for the killing of Mr. Sububu.
As we have seen this week, public calls to action have been effective with the military, especially in the case of Seaman Abbas Haruna. This is where criticisms arise concerning the armed forces.
When the popular Brekete Family show hosted a certain Hussaina Ilyas, neither she nor the show had any idea how viral her story would go. But everyone loves an underdog story, and this woman, without the support of her family, has been battling a powerful institution for the release of her husband from six years of military captivity. She made accusations and named names.
Of course, everyone was distressed by the story. Some people even wanted to take down Brig. General MS Adamu (presented as the ‘Big Boss’ in this story) themselves. Some shared photos of the man they believed to be the officer, some shared photos of a woman believed to be his mother, and others shared a phone number they believed to be his, to expose him to a digital mob. I have seen one message someone sent to the number, invoking God’s curses and wrath on the man. I can’t imagine what the other messages contained. It is good for people to use their voice to champion social justice causes, especially in a country where social justice often tends to doze on Nigerians in need. The danger, however, is that mob actions like this often target the wrong people. Someone with knowledge of the parties in the case said the photos being shared are not of the said Ms. Adamu. Days later, the Defence HQ issued a statement making the same claims. The other danger is that we have only heard one side of the story.
Hussaina’s voice, backed up by the thundering voices of Nigerians on social media, has won a major victory—it has brought the case to light, and the Defence HQ has issued a statement to the effect that it will now investigate the claim and “make the findings” public.
That second bit is important. Far too often, the military obfuscates issues under the veil of “security matters.” This has allowed the military and its personnel to get away with human rights abuses on civilians. It has also allowed certain individuals within the services to undertake acts of impunity with no fear of accountability.
Considering how invested Nigerians are in this case and how damaging it has been for the reputation of the military, it is imperative that the findings are made public and that Seaman Abbas Haruna be reunited with his family and, if found innocent and fit, be compensated and allowed to serve his country in the way that he wanted.
Yet while voices are being raised for social justice, some scammers have already started collecting donations “for Hussaina.” Some of them claimed they had spoken to her and are collecting the money for her. However, the money was being paid into a bank account that wasn’t hers. The woman herself has come out to deny any of these initiatives in her name and said she did not ask for money, just for the return of her husband. I think those who are trying to profit from a woman and her children’s suffering ought to be ashamed of themselves.
In the final analysis, the onus is now on the military to clear the institution from this allegation and ensure that senior officers do not abuse the privilege of their position with regard to their subordinates. They must also capitalise on the gains of Sububu’s death and rid Nigeria of his ilk. So help them God.
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, a Nigerian writer and journalist, is a columnist with Daily Trust