Borno lawmaker says Nigerian Army is so under-funded that soldiers now ration ammunition

NIGERIANS soldiers fighting Boko Haram in the northeast of the country are sop under-equipped that they army is having to ration ammunition between them according to the lawmaker representing Borno South Senatorial District Senator Ali Ndume.

Since 2009, Nigeria has been involved in a brutal war with Boko Haram insurgents looking to establish a theocratic caliphate in the northeast of the country. At one stage, Boko Haram controlled 17 local government areas in Borno State and although the Nigerian Army has since recaptured most of this territory, the insurgents still control large swathes of the countryside.

Only last month, Boko Haram terrorists took over the town of Kaure in Shiroro Local Government Area and hoisted their flag there. Lamenting how ill-equipped the Nigerian Army is to deal with this renewed insurgency, Senator Ndume said military personnel no longer carry new AK-47 rifles and have to ration bullets.

Senator Ndume said: “Never in the history of this country has Nigeria been challenged from various angles like this time. It has gotten so bad that in this country of ours, citizens now negotiate with criminals to live in peace.

“When we confront the Nigerian Army and ask why are you not performing, they will tell us we don’t have money, we only manage with what we have. It is so bad that the Nigerian Army is rationing ammunition.

"They ration ammunition. I have gone round the formations and I have not seen a Nigerian soldier holding a brand new AK-47 yet.”