Boko Haram: Soldiers Wives Stop Husbands' Deployment To Gwoza

Hundreds of women and their children trooped out on Saturday, forcefully stopping military trucks from conveying their husbands and fathers to the Boko Haram-seized Gwoza area in Borno state.

The women and children were said to have locked the exit gates of Giwa Barracks of the 21 armoured brigade Maiduguri, placing themselves as wedges before the trucks and also demanding quality fighting equipment for the soldiers who were being sent out to combat the insurgents, Vanguard reports.

The angry women who vowed not to allow their husbands to proceed to Bama as directed by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), General Mohammed Ibrahim, reportedly blocked the roads leading to the barracks with stones and sticks, while some sat in front of the barracks’ gate.

One of the women said: "We don’t want to be made another set of widows, give our husbands modern and better arms, weapons and vehicles or they go nowhere!"

A reliable military source who spoke with Tribune said: "They blocked the road, all our weapons are now locked up inside and in case of emergency we do not have weapons to defend ourselves. The women are equally not armed but are very angry sitting down there with their children. They are not ignorant of what is going on."

Related: Nigerian Soldier Killed By Boko Haram During Attack In Borno

Some soldiers at the barracks who spoke to journalist said they were in support of the action.

A soldier who pleaded anonymity said: "We are ever ready to tackle Boko Haram terrorists but our superior officers are not helping us by not giving us the right arms to execute the war. How can I go and face Boko Haram with AK47 that is charged with only three cartridges when the enemy is brandishing modern GPMG, AA, RPG and so on. Most of our soldiers die every day like fowls because of faulty deployment and yet when you complain they only tell you to obey the last order."

Another soldier added that if given the  right arms and ammunition, they are ready to finish Boko Haram in one week because they have the courage to do it.

This is coming barely a week after gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram, launched an assault on Gwoza town, Borno State, killing about a hundred people. Scores of soldiers have been killed in Borno State in the last few months, during  attacks by the vicious Boko Haram sect and many blame the inferior weapons Nigerian troops are equipped with to fight the brutal insurgents.

Source: Legit.ng