FG orders court martial of Brigadier General and 20 others over insurgency

The Federal Government (FG) has ordered a brigadier general and 21 other army officers to face a court martial over alleged sabotage in the war against Islamist militant group Boko Haram, two military sources said on Tuesday.

The charges were not specified.

Some officers have long been suspected of colluding with Boko Haram, with President Goodluck Jonathan saying in May that the Sunni jihadist group had “infiltrated … the armed forces and police”.

This is the first time senior army officers have been put on trial for offences relating to the fight against Boko Haram.

The militant group killed an estimated 10,000 people last year in its battle to revive a medieval caliphate in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and its biggest energy producer.