The Nigerian Army has said about 227 officers and soldiers who protested against the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 3 Armoured Division in Jos last Friday were dismissed for acts of cowardice, indiscipline and desertion.

The aggrieved soldiers who stormed the Plateau State Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat with placards claimed that they were unjustly dismissed without any known offence and without the benefit of fair hearing and pleaded for the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan.

However, a senior army officer, while speaking with THISDAY at the weekend, said the protesting soldiers were simply playing to the gallery having known the consequences of their actions.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Brig-Gen. Olajide Lalye, could not be reached for comments but the officer who spoke to THISDAY insisted that the decision was the minimum punishment that the concerned personnel could have received for “grievous act of sabotaging the ongoing counter-terrorism operations.”

The source said the affected soldiers were free to appeal the decision of the army in accordance with the provision of the Armed Forces Act.

“They know they committed this offence and they were properly tried. Also, according to the Armed Forces Act, if there is doubt, they are free to appeal,” the source said.

The general also allayed the fear that such mass dismissal of men and women who are used to bearing arms, suddenly finding themselves without means of livelihood could boomerang against the larger society.

According to the senior officer, the military would be stronger with fewer but well committed, passionate and efficient officers and soldiers than having millions of personnel who runaway at the sight of a rag-tag terrorists.

The army authorities said the concerned soldiers had not even shown any form of remorse for their unprofessional conduct but chose to play to the gallery and to exploit the public sentiment within a tensed political period.

The source said: “They know the reward; if they want to continue with crime, let them try it and the law will catch up with them. Do they want to be terrorists? They will now know that it is easy to be in the army than to be a terrorist.

“The Nigerian army is opposed to condoning all forms of characters just for the numbers. We don’t need an army of 1,000,000 that is indiscipline rather an army of 100 that is professional and well disciplined.”

“The issue of them protesting is even part of the indiscipline we are talking about. They are not even showing any remorse nor are they ready to change but they are trying to whip up public sentiments and heat up the system.

“They want the people to see them as heroic, how can you be seen as being heroic when you have shown high level act of cowardice, callousness and irresponsibility. They want to blackmail the army and are trying to do this by playing to the gallery.”

Speaking further, another intelligence source revealed that the affected soldiers who fled from the advancing terrorists in Mubi, Bama and other locations, were subsequently replaced by soldiers from other divisions, battalions and units.