Army Denies Sending Igbos To Dangerous Battlefront, Laments Low South-East Enlistment

The Nigerian Army has raised concerns about the low number of applicants from the South-East region in its ongoing recruitment drive.

The army warned that this could lead to underrepresentation of the region in the military.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Enugu, Chima Ekeator, leader of the 2025 recruitment awareness campaign, said the South-East is missing out on military opportunities due to poor turnout.

He gave an example with Enugu State, saying the state had about 200 slots available this year, but fewer than 100 people applied.

According to him, this trend has been consistent across other states in the region.

He encouraged young people in the South-East to step up and make use of the recruitment opportunity.

He also pointed out that other states, like Kaduna, have shown much higher interest—receiving over 3,000 applications already.

“Our people are losing what rightly belongs to them. Each year, whenever a slot is being allocated to our people, we keep noticing that the number of applicants from our side is usually very poor,” Ekeator said.

“Take, for example, Enugu State was given about 200 slots, but the people who made it were never up to 100 due to poor application. This has also become a recurring decimal in other states in the south-east.

“Today’s statistics on the number of applicants show that Kaduna has about 3,000 applicants, while Enugu is still battling with about a hundred; and by the time we will be through with screening, you will not have enough to recruit from the state,” he said.

Ekeator also addressed claims that Igbo soldiers are intentionally sent to the most dangerous battlefronts, saying those stories are false.

He stressed that promotions and deployments in the army are based on merit, not ethnicity.

He noted that several people from the South-East hold top positions in the military.

“There are a lot of falsehoods out there stating that the Igbo are being killed because they are the first to be sent to the battlefield.

“These things are not true. After all, we that are here have risen high in the Army, and we are telling you that they are lies.”

“Today in the Nigerian Army, our brother is one of the top commanders in charge of equipment. His name is Chibueze Ogbuabor,” he said.

KanyiDaily recalls that the Nigerian Army (NA) recently denied allegations that its soldiers invaded the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) substation in Badagry, Lagos.