Again, Nigeria Hires Mercenaries To Tackle Boko Haram

SAN FRANCISCO, October 23, (THEWILL) – Fresh indications have emerged that the Nigerian military may have hired some mercenaries to tackle the Boko Haram insurgents.

This move, it was gathered, is part of the efforts to meet the deadline given by President Muhammadu Buhari to rout the insurgents.

Impeccable military sources put the number of the newly-engaged mercenaries at around 250, adding that the foreign soldiers are from the South Africa-based private contractor, Specialised Tasks, Training, Equipment and Protection (STTEP).

A Defence Headquarters (DHQ) source, craving anonymity, said the mercenaries are being deployed along with fighter jets in Operation Fire Force.

“The mercenaries have been re-engaged and their platforms are being deployed,” the source said. “By platforms, I mean fighter jets, helos (helicopters), coms (communication), surveillance, medics, etc.”

The men from STTEP, it was learnt, include veterans from the South African apartheid era who will work with and train a Nigerian strike force.

STTEP's official website said the company's trainers and advisers are drawn from “conventional, clandestine, and covert units of the pre-1994 South African Defence Force”.

It claims to have a proven track record of success in Africa, the Middle East, the Far East and Central and South America.

Confirming the development to the Turkish news agency, Anadolu Agency, a military source said ,“There is definitely something happening in that direction.”

THEWILL recalls that personnel from STTEP were also hired by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in January to fight Boko Haram, a development that was condemned by the opposition during the last general elections.

However, the DHQ source said deploying mercenaries against Boko Haram seems to be the most practical option considering the guerilla tactics of the insurgents, which the source said, are new to the Nigerian military.

The DHQ source disclosed that the Buhari administration initially terminated the mercenary contract, saying it was “opaque and without accountability”.

The source who said that the new agreement was reached to boost the ongoing counter-insurgency operation,also disclosed that “As it stands now, huge amounts of monies are owed to the contractors as fulfillment for the previous engagement.”

The source also added: “So they are starting a new engagement for an initial period of three months. As for their outstanding balances, investigations are being carried out to ensure everything is above board.”

Reacting to the development, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said there was no truth in it.

“It is true that the previous administration hired South African mercenaries to fight Boko Haram,” Garba said. “They, however, left with the government that brought them.”

According to him, “Since coming into office, this government did not have any engagement with mercenaries of any kind and there are no plans to do so.”

In the same vein, a spokesman for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), Siphiwe Dlamini, said his country did not have any troops in Nigeria but could not say if private mercenaries were operating there.

“I wish to reiterate there are no SANDF personnel in Nigeria fighting Boko Haram,” he told Anadolu Agency. “If there are South Africans who are there as you allege, they are not our members but private citizens. I cannot comment on what private citizens are doing in any part of the world.”

THEWILL recalls that the Nigerian Army, last weekend, hinted of some impending military deployments against Boko Haram, saying in a statement that the country’s sovereignty was under threat.

“The next few days would be crucial to the operation Lafiya Dole (Peace by Force),” the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said in a message to troops. “It is also crucial to our country Nigeria. Our sovereignty as a nation is threatened.”

According to Buratai, “The Nigerian army and indeed the military as the symbol of our nationhood are being challenged. Our ability to stand and defeat the Boko Haram terrorists in the next few weeks will determine the future of our country.”