As female soldiers begin patrol on the Abuja-Kaduna highway following their deployment on Wednesday, our reporter tells you 10 things about these women of war.
1· The Nigerian Army established its first women-only corps in 2018 “to give Nigerian Army an opportunity to derive the maximum benefit from the contributions to the defence and security of our nation”.
2· The unit was created by the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai.
3· The corps is commanded by a male senior officer in the rank of Brigadier General.
4· A women-only battalion was also established and placed under the command of a female officer as its CO (Commanding Officer).
5· The corps and the battalion are based in Giri, Abuja.
Recruitment
6· Officers and soldiers of the unit undergo basic military training at the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, and Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria, before the are posted to the corps and its battalion.
Operations/Duties
7· Military sources told Dateline Nigeria that under Buratai, troops of the Nigerian Army Women Battalion had seen tour of duty in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Sokoto, where they carried out inter-state patrols.
8· The women soldiers were also part of the former army chief’s escort.
9· Some of them also perform duties as drivers for their commanding officers.
10· The unit’s latest activity which was widely publicized, was the deployment of 300 troops from the battalion to fight kidnappers operating along the Kaduna-Abuja highway. This coincided with the appointment of a new Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. I Attahiru by President Muhammadu Buhari as Buratai’s replacement.
Countries like Australia (since 2011), Canada (since 1989), Denmark (since 1988), France, Germany(since 2001), Israel (since 1995), New Zealand (since 2001) and Norway (since 1985) also have policies that allow women to be sent into combat.
