A military veteran, Col Nasiru Salami (retd), has claimed that security agents in Nigeria are using inferior weapons to fight the newly formed terror group Lakurawa wreaking havoc in the North-West geopolitical zone of the country.
The 76-year-old veteran was a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on the occasion of the 2025 Armed Forces’ Remembrance Day on Wednesday.
He said, “Somebody called me from Maiduguri yesterday and said this Lakurawa, they have divided themselves into two, attacking from different sides.
“According to him, the rifle they (the government) gave them (security agents) is this our general rifle, GT3 or so, while the ones they (the Lakurawa) were using, when they range, they will see as far as about a mile. That’s the Lakurawa people. They have very sophisticated weapons.
“Now, our men are using useless rifles that cannot go beyond a quarter of a mile but these people when they shoot from a far distance, they will aim and get the target.”
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Salami urged the Federal Government to come to the rescue of security agents on the battlefield and arm them with assault rifles that can match or even surpass those of insurgents.
He said with sophisticated weapons and the right motivation, the number of fallen heroes can be reduced in Nigeria.
In a touching narration, Salami chronicled his voyage in the military right from his enlistment into the Nigerian Army in October 1967 to when he was moved straight to the battlefield for the Biafra war just after six weeks of training.
Salami, who is now the Secretary of the Nigerian Legion, Lagos Chapter, said he was on the battlefield for 11 months during the civil war between 1967 and 1970.
The septuagenarian recounted how he painfully lost his right foot during the war, leading to the amputation of the foot. He said he went back to the war front to continue the war.
Meanwhile, military authorities have vowed to eliminate Lakurawa insurgents and other terror groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).