The Nigerian Army said calm has been restored at Maiduguri Airport seized for two hours on Sunday by riotous troops.
In a statement signed by the Deputy Director Public Relations, Operation Lafiya Dole Theatre Command, Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, said the protest by the few unscrupulous troops happened while the command was conducting a redeployment of soldiers at the Maiduguri Airport, following a directive to review troops’ deployment in Maiduguri metropolis, to reinvigorate the security architecture of the city.
The statement also added that calm has been restored, as the Theatre Commander Major General Abba Dikko has promptly taken charge of the situation after addressing and admonishing the troops.
In a related development, NAN reports has indicated that the aggrieved soldiers claimed they had overstayed and were resisting redeployment to Marte, one of the towns liberated by the military several years ago from the control of Boko Haram terrorists.
One of the protesting soldiers, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said the planned deployment was against the directives by the Army Headquarters.
The army Special Forces deployed to the airport were not trained to engage in ground battle rather trained to provide air defence, he added.
Another soldier lamented that the troops have overstayed in the Northeast fighting Boko Haram, despite the rotation order by the military authorities.