Major Gen. Ishola Williams is shocked that the Nigerian Army does not have encrypted communication systems such as walkie-talkies in 2025.

The retired Army signals officer said this in reaction to the killing of Brig.-Gen. Musa Uba by Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in Borno State last month.

The hoodlums said they captured Uba and executed him after he was interrogated. The insurgents reportedly captured Uba after tracking his location along the Damboa–Biu Road area after he survived a deadly ambush. Williams asked the military to probe the circumstances that led to Uba’s capture and execution.

He said: “From my knowledge of being a former signals officer, if you carry a mobile phone, you can contact emergency services without a network. “I am surprised that the Army has not got that.

“From what I read, he was contacting the base, and the insurgents were getting the messages, whereas the Army should have gotten an encrypted system of communications like a walkie-talkie.

“I am shocked the Nigerian Army did not have it in 2025. Can you imagine a senior officer at that level? It is a big shame.” He added: “One very clear fact is that there are moles in the military system, and nobody has accepted that. “Who are the moles for Boko Haram and ISWAP within the Army?

“How do they always know that troops are moving and ambush them? Every attack and casualty has been through an ambush. “In a few cases, they attack the barracks, and when they attack, people are not expecting them. Some people might have been telling them.

“The Chief of Defence Staff said they had drones. What happened to the drones? “The immediate past CDS said they were expensive. No matter how expensive they were, they were bought because there was a need for them to be used. “If they have a tactical working plan and they use the drones with well-trained pilots, they can deploy them.”