In a shocking disclosure, a member of the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI), Dr. Sidi Ali Mohammed, has lamented the huge disparity between the pay of a Nigerian soldier in the Boko Haram counter-terrorism operation in the North East and a Boko Haram fighter.
According to Mohammed, who spoke at a presentation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Sub-Sahara Africa’s Economic Outlook Report in Abuja on Monday, a Boko Haram fighter earns $3,000 as daily allowance compared to the N1,000 daily allowance paid to Nigerian soldiers.
He said that Boko Haram now operates like a cartel.
“I will give you an example. The Nigerian military, for example, gets N1, 000 per day for being in the Northeast, at the war front, as an allowance. The same Northeast, where if you are a member of Boko Haram you get $3,000 per day, as allowance. So it is lucrative. Sometimes they even give you money upfront. So we must do something about the youths from where they are recruiting,” The Nation quoted him as saying.
Mohammed is the Head of the Humanitarian Assistance and Rehabilitation arm of the PCNI.
Read Also: Hundreds of motorists unaccounted for as bandits block Kaduna-Abuja highway again