by Ranti Joseph

Reports say about 100 South African retired military men are actively involved in the Nigerian offensive against Boko Haram insurgents in the North east of the country.

The problem however is that they may not be here legally: they are mercenaries as South Africa’s defence minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has said stating that they should be arrested and returned to the country. “There are consequences when somebody leaves the country and provides any form of military assistance that is not part of the government’s deployment,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.

Mapisa-Nqakula added that the police and prosecuting authority should make examples of the group by charging them under the regulation on Foreign Military Assistance Act. She also said no South African National Defence Force member was deployed to Nigeria and her country had not received an official request for assistance or weapons.

It is said the South African military experts are former soldiers of the SA Defence Force, the predecessor of the SA National Defence Force. According to a South African daily newspaper- Beeld, Nigeria, using back channels requested for the mercenaries who had been involved in conflicts in Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The South African Act of Military Assistance Abroad prevents its citizens from participating in wars in other countries, unless they are acting under the authority of the government in Pretoria. Some of the South Africans are involved in training Nigerian air force pilots and carrying out air strikes against the insurgents’ position. According to a source on Saturday quoting the Nigerian military sources, they are also involved with ground troops. Corroborating, another security source confided that it is true South African pilots have trained and are still training Nigerian pilots who have so far recorded victories in recent operations in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states after they carried air raids in Boko Haram hideouts. “Nigeria has recently procured modern military hardware, including fighter jets and armoured vehicles. But some of the equipments are so sophisticated that both our ground troops and the Air Force cannot operate them without substantial training, which will take some time. This is basically what made the deployment of the South African experts inevitable, in view of the fact that Nigeria was running out of time and there was the urgent need to substantially address the Boko Haram problem. The top military hierarchy and the Federal Government are trying to revamp our image which is at a record low, especially going by unprecedented breakthroughs recorded by troops from neighbouring countries,” the source said.

It was revealed that with the technical support of the South African pilots, the NAF successfully shelled some Boko Haram enclaves around Gulani and Gujba in Yobe State, the Damboa general area, including Alagarno, fringes of the notorious Sambisa Forest as well as parts of Maiduguri, Mafa, Dikwa in Borno State and around Michika in Adamawa State.

“The planes and the helicopters are ours, but South Africans are giving support and the ground troops normally complete operations,” another source disclosed.

It was also reported that military experts, mostly from Eastern Europe, are among other foreign specialists assisting Nigerian troops.

Spokesman for the Defence Headquarters, Chris Olukolade has justified what amounts to outsourcing of the Boko Haram war. “It is well known that terrorism being an international and trans/cross border menace calls for the involvement of all well-meaning countries all over the world,” he said.

Janeth J