The Nigerian military on Friday said the two soldiers who were arrested in Zamfara State for allegedly aiding banditry will be punished if found guilty.
The spokesperson, Defence Headquarters, Muhammad Yerima, told the media that the military will not allow the activities of a few bad eggs among its personnel discredit the institution.
The media had reported how the Zamfara State Government in March announced the arrest of a soldier and his girlfriend for allegedly supplying ammunitions and military uniforms to bandits in the state.
The state government, however, at the time did not provide details of the alleged incident, saying it was waiting for the military authorities to do so.
Also, in another incident on Friday, the state’s governor, Bello Matawalle, suspended the district head of Badarawa in Shinkafi Emirate Council, Surajo Namakkah, for conferring a traditional title on a military officer accused of selling ammunition to bandits in the state.
Mr Matawalle’s media aide, Yusuf Idris, in a statement, said the soldier was found with 20 rounds of 62mm live ammunition at the point of delivery to the criminals.
“The suspect was said to be at the point of handing over the ammunition to one Kabiru Bashiru, a resident of Maniya village, Shinkafi Emirate, and had allegedly collected an advance payment of N100,000 from bandits,” the official said.
Mr Yerima, a brigadier-general, said the military will not treat the two issues lightly.
“Definitely, those arrested with such crime will be discipline, there is no two ways about this,” he said.
