The chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, on Tuesday, July 25, 2017, approved the special promotion of 6,199 soldiers serving in Operation Lafiya Dole, the frontier of the war against Boko Haram.
The soldiers, according to an e-mailed statement to The Trent signed by Sani Usman, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, were promoted to various ranks between lance corporals to warrant officers in the Nigerian Army.
The breakdown of the beneficiaries of the special promotion are as follows:
1. Staff Sergeants – Warrant Officers –329.
2. Sergeants – Staff Sergeants –371.
3. Corporals – Sergeants –707.
4. Lance Corporals – Corporals –1,290.
5. Privates – Lance Corporals –3,502.
Total 6,199.
“The chief of army staff congratulates the beneficiaries and urged them to increase the tempo of the ongoing clearance operations of the Boko Haram terrorists in the North East,” the statement said.
Buhari Defeats Boko Haram?
Late December 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari declared victory over the Islamist terrorist group after Nigerian troops announced that they have recaptured Camp Zero in Sambisa forest, the base of the deadliest terrorist group in the world.
The Nigerian Army later presented the president with the flag belonging to the terrorist group in a “mission accomplished” ceremony.
Since the declaration a week ahead of Christmas Day 2016, Boko Haram has launched a number of deadly attacks in the North Eastern region of the country where the terrorists have murdered at least 50,000 since they began their campaign to establish an Islamic caliphate in the country.
