Danger Within: Boko Haram Members Slipped into Nigerian Army Recruitment, Alarming Revelation

Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase, has raised serious alarms over the integrity of Nigeria’s security recruitment process, revealing that Boko Haram operatives were once included in the Nigerian Army recruitment roster. His disclosure comes amid growing concerns about the nation’s escalating insecurity.

Speaking at a special plenary session convened to assess Nigeria’s security challenges, Wase emphasized that the revelations underscore severe gaps in the recruitment framework of the country’s defense institutions. He noted that the former Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Muktar Betara, could corroborate the startling claim.

“This exposes serious weaknesses in our recruitment procedures, which have allowed individuals with criminal affiliations to infiltrate critical security institutions,” Wase said, visibly emotional. Wase, who lost both a brother and a cousin to terrorist attacks, recounted that his surviving younger brother even pleaded for help to be relocated from their community due to insecurity.

He stressed the urgent need for political leaders to recommend candidates of unquestionable integrity during recruitment processes, warning that failure to do so allows criminal elements to operate with impunity. “You find a criminal in the system, and before you know it, whatever you do, you cannot have the problem resolved. So we must change the system and way of our recruitment,” he said.

Wase also criticized the politicization of indigeneship and citizenship, highlighting its role in fostering national division, and called for constitutional reforms. He painted a grim picture of Nigeria’s security landscape, noting that approximately N5 billion is reportedly paid in ransom annually and over 30,000 lives have been lost to Boko Haram-related attacks over time.

He concluded by urging legislators to adopt a coordinated, comprehensive approach, stressing that the scale of insecurity in Nigeria is far worse than widely perceived and requires immediate action.