Why Igbo youths refuse to enlist in Nigerian Army

Aloy Ejimakor, Special Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has explained why Igbo youths are refusing to enlist in the Nigerian Army.

Ejimakor explained that Igbo youths are refusing to enlist into the Nigerian Army because they lack trust in the institution.

In a post on X, the activist lawyer insisted that the armed forces has repeatedly being weaponized against Igbos.

Ejimakor also noted that youths of the South-East are appalled by the integration of “repentant” Boko Haram terrorists into the military.

He wrote: “The reluctance of Igbo youths to enlist in the Nigerian armed forces is not a deficit of valor, but a calculated refusal to serve an institution they deeply mistrust. Historically and presently, Ndigbo face systematic marginalization within an ethnically unbalanced leadership structure in Nigeria’s security services.

“More critically, the armed forces are repeatedly weaponized against Ndigbo in times of crisis. The trauma of the 1967 army massacres of Ndigbo in the North remain an unhealed wound, constantly reopened by modern atrocities targeting youths suspected of IPOB ties, such as the state-sanctioned violence at Nkpor, the Aba prayer ground, Obigbo, the Trump victory rally in Port Harcourt, and many others.

“Furthermore, these youths are deeply appalled by the integration of “repentant” Boko Haram terrorists into the military. To ask them to bleed under a biased command, alongside former terrorists, is a compromise of dignity they refuse to make.

“So, their reluctance to enlist is not cowardice. Instead, it is a quiet, powerful protest against an institution that has often betrayed Ndigbo.”