A senior Nigerian government official has denied the presence of mercenaries in Nigeria's armies as they continue the fight against Boko Haram.
The official did say, however, that the army was using consultants to train the troops in the use of "newly acquired weapons."
According to the Premium Times, National Orientation Agency director Mike Omeri addressed rumours about mercenaries being involved in the fight against Boko Haram in the northeast of the country during a visit to the agency's Abuja office on Sunday.
As NOA director, Mr Omeri manages the National Information Centre, which provides Nigerian citizens with updates on the fight against the extremist group.
During the visit, Mr Omeri said that there were no mercenaries working in the Nigerian military. Instead, Nigerian soldiers are fighting the Islamist radical group with soldiers from Chad, Benin, Niger and Cameroon. The NOA director clarified that Nigerians have mistaken the presence of Westerners in the military for mercenaries, but they are consultants training the soldiers in weaponry.
"When our weapons were acquired recently, we needed training because training component came with the people who supplied these weapons," Mr Omeri explained.
"It is therefore easy to see a white man where these things are happening like in Maiduguri and elsewhere and conclude that we have mercenaries," he added.
The NOA official explained that consultants from security companies were necessary because there was virtually no time for soldiers to learn how to use the new weapons and equipment because of the speed with which the multi-national force was pulled together.
"[W]e are in a war situation and we need the capability to use the weapons immediately," he concluded.
Nigeria is currently locked in an intense battle with the Boko Haram, who have terrorised the country's northeast region for six years before expanding their attacks to neighbouring Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. An 8,000-strong multinational task force composed of soldiers from the four countries as well as from Nigeria's western neighbour, Benin, has been formed and is currently engaging Boko Haram.
