Islamist Boko Haram militants until they receive better equipment, one
of the mutineers has told the BBC.
The soldier, who requested anonymity, said at least 40 of his
colleagues would refuse orders to deploy.
The military has not commented on the reported mutiny or the demands.
A state of emergency that was declared in three north-eastern states
last year has failed to curb the insurgency.
Boko Haram is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria - and has
stepped up its attacks after being pushed out of its bases in
Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, targeting towns and villages in
deadly raids.
"Soldiers are dying like fowl," the soldier, who said he and his
colleagues were just outside Maiduguri, told the BBC Hausa service.
"The Nigerian army is not ready to fight Boko Haram," he said,
explaining that soldiers were not being given enough weapons and
ammunition to take them on.
"Boko Haram are inside the bush, everywhere," he said "They [senior
commanders] are sacrificing soldiers," he said.
Even the vehicles the soldiers were expected to use were old armoured
cars that were not up to the job, he added.
A general in the army, who asked not to be named, told the BBC that he
was unable to confirm the mutiny, but said "cowardice" was not
uncommon in times of war - and any mutineers would be punished.
When the solder was asked if he feared being court-martialled for
taking part in the mutiny, he said that a soldier could only be taken
to task for refusing to go to war.
"I joined the army to defend my country", but you cannot defend it
without being equipped to do so, he said.
In April, Boko Haram caused global outrage by abducting more than 200
girls from a boarding school in the remote town of Chibok in Borno
state.
The group has also carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations,
including that of moderate Muslim leaders opposed to its ideology.
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