The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has called for immediate disciplinary action following reports that nine military officers allegedly connected to Boko Haram terrorists escaped from a military guardroom at Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, Borno State.
In a statement released yesterday by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the group said information emerging from Maiduguri indicated that the officers fled on Monday from the cantonment where they had been held in detention.
Describing the development as “deeply troubling,” HURIWA expressed alarm that the incident occurred at a time when the United States government had issued a warning about potential airstrikes targeting terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP.
“If the report is factually accurate, then there is more to it than meets the eye,” Onwubiko said. “It means there is a high network of conspiratorial plots within the command structures, and these collaborators and saboteurs of the war on terror must be identified, arrested, prosecuted for treason, and jailed for life.”
The association urged the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, to treat the issue as a matter of national urgency and ensure the immediate re-arrest of the escaped officers.
Onwubiko added, “If this is true, it validates the position of Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, that saboteurs within the military are undermining the fight against terrorism.”
Although the Nigerian Army has yet to issue an official statement on the alleged escape, reports suggest that the officers were being detained over their suspected involvement in arms trafficking to terrorist groups operating in the North-East. The incident has reportedly triggered serious concern within Nigeria’s security establishment.
HURIWA further lamented that the escape took place only days after President Bola Tinubu appointed new service chiefs, describing it as “a deliberate act to send a message that saboteurs within the system feel untouchable.”
The group warned that allowing such high-profile suspects to flee custody represented a major breach of national security. “When we call for heads to roll, we truly mean that bad eggs must be immediately weeded out of the Army,” the statement read. “It is time for a transparent overhaul of the military operations against terrorists, as the infiltration of the institution by informants and arms suppliers is a national disgrace.”
