Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lucky Irabor, has dismissed claims that Boko Haram members and other criminals are being recruited into the Nigerian military, describing such allegations as unfounded and impossible.
Gatekeepers News reports that Irabor spoke on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, reacting to recent allegations by former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase.
On November 27, Wase alleged that a past recruitment exercise uncovered Boko Haram members, armed robbers, and other criminals among shortlisted applicants for the army and police. He said former House Committee on Defence chairman, Muktar Betara, could confirm the claim.
“My brother, former chairman of defence, and my very good friend Betara will bear me witness that we have moments in time when, in the process of recruitment, Boko Haram were found on the army list,” Wase had said.
“Armed robbers and other criminals were also found on the list of the army and police.”
But Irabor strongly rejected the assertion, insisting that the structure and recruitment processes of the armed forces make such infiltration impossible.
“It has always been a burden for me where we got this impression from. How can they be recruited? This does not exist,” he said.
‘Practically impossible’ — Irabor recounts career experience
The retired general said his long years occupying operational and command roles leave no room for the possibility that terrorists could slip into the military.
“Before I became CDS, I was theatre commander Operation Lafiya Dole. From there, I crossed over to become force commander, Multinational Joint Task Force… And then I became chief of defence training and operations, overseeing all that. And then I became theatre commander and later got appointed as CDS… How could it be? Where people got that impression, I cannot tell.”
Irabor emphasised that even the most basic stage of recruitment requires verification from local government authorities, which automatically prevents individuals with extremist links from entering the system.
“It is impossible. Besides, you can’t come into the military if those in your local government have not actually sanctioned you.”
Operation Safe Corridor not for military recruitment
Irabor also clarified misconceptions about Operation Safe Corridor, the federal deradicalisation programme for low-risk former Boko Haram fighters.
He said the programme reintegrates rehabilitated individuals into civilian communities, not into the armed forces.
Security gaps do not equal institutional failure
While acknowledging ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s security architecture, the former CDS warned against misinterpreting operational setbacks as evidence of systemic collapse.
He said addressing manpower deficits, strengthening equipment capacity, and improving intelligence adaptation remain critical to enhancing the nation’s counter-insurgency operations.
