The general officer commanding (GOC), 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, yesterday escaped death by a whisker when a group of disgruntled soldiers turned their gun at his vehicle and pulled the trigger.
But a top military source confided in LEADERSHIP last night that the GOC had been removed over the incident. The source added that details of the circumstances leading to the GOC’s removal would be made known shortly.
Attempts to confirm the removal of the GOC were unsuccessful as several calls and SMS sent to the phone of the spokesperson of defence headquarters, Brigadier-General Chris Olukolade, were not replied.
The soldiers who perpetrated this near-act of mutiny, according to various accounts, were reacting in anger over the ambush attack they suffered in the hands of Boko Haram terrorists on their way back from an operation in Kalabalge during which about 12 of them got killed.
The few soldiers that survived the attack blamed their plight on the military hierarchy in the division headed by the GOC who, they said, had insisted that they must return to Maiduguri via a route they had earlier considered dangerous for them to take at night.
Some soldiers who shared the sentiments of the soldiers that carried out the shooting on the GOC said the victims and those that survived had pleaded to pass the night in one of the villages so that they could safely return to Maiduguri on Wednesday morning.
“But those commanding the troop declined their request on the grounds that the GOC wanted them back to Maiduguri at all cost,” said a soldier who pleaded anonymity.
A very senior security officer who spoke to LEADDERSHIP reporter on condition of anonymity said, “The action of the soldiers was misplaced and unprofessional because the time of the day does not determine when soldiers or troop should move from one point to the other. Perhaps the officers that insisted that the troops should return to Maiduguri at that time might have considered the nocturnal trip as the best. But no one plans for ambush; it was unfortunate, but the GOC should not have been the one to blame because they are not directly under his command; thank God the GOC is hale and hearty; nothing happened to him.”
Another military source also stated that the incident took place inside the Maimalari Cantonment located in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. However, his personal aides who were trying to protect him during the tragedy received multiple injuries.
The source said, “Some soldiers had left Chibok for Maiduguri on Tuesday but they asked their commanders to let them sleep over on the way because it was very late, but they were ordered to continue with the journey. Unfortunately, they were ambushed by some unknown gunmen who killed them, and it was their corpses that were brought back to Maimalari Cantonment in the morning (yesterday).”
The source further said: “The arrival of General Mohammed while the soldiers were bitter over the demise of their colleagues compounded the whole scenario as two of them opened fired in his direction but his personal aides fenced him; if not, they would have either injured him or killed him.”
But another insider claimed the anger of the soldiers had to do with their welfare which had not been good and they had been looking for a way of expressing this to the top military officers.
“They were not happy that their allowances were not paid as and when due and it was not sufficient for them. Some of them have overstayed on the roadblock more than the rule required because of the insufficiency of personnel and there was nobody to listen to them. But when the GOC arrived and they were in the process of making their ordeal known to him, the corpses of those killed
on their way to Maiduguri were brought in and this led to one of them opening fire at the general.”
We’ll investigate officers’ conduct – DHQ
In a swift reaction to the incident, the director of information, Defence Headquarters, Major General Chris Olukolade, in a statement said the matter would be investigated.
“The 7 Division of the Nigerian Army is to institute a military board of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the conduct of soldiers who fired some shots today while the General Officer Commanding was addressing troops in Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri.
“The incident occurred when the corpses of four soldiers who died in an ambush while returning from patrol duties in Chibok were being conveyed to the morgue. There is calm in the cantonment and all normal operation activities are ongoing,” the statement says.
Locals kill 200 insurgents, nab 10, recover armoured vehicle
LEADERSHIP yesterday reported of an attempted attack on Kalabalge town by members of the Boko Haram. Villagers and members of the vigilante group were able to repel the attack by killing about 200 insurgents, arresting 10 others alive, and recovering over 80 motorcycles, two patrol vans and an amoured personnel carrier (APC).
It was gathered that soldiers have gone to Kalabalge in order to retrieve the military vans and APC recovered by the vigilante from the dislodged gang of Boko Haram and also bring the 10 arrested suspects back to Maiduguri.
An eyewitness told the BBC Hausa service on condition of anonymity that the area was littered with dead bodies after the fighting.
He said, “I have seen 50 bodies in one village and 150 in another village, all of which I thought were the corpses of militants.
Civilian JTF to FG: Give us arms to fight insurgents, not extension of emergency rule
Members of the “Civilian JTF” in Borno State yesterday condemned the move by the federal government to extend the state of emergency in the three states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe even as they suggested that government should instead give them arms to help end the Boko Haram terrorism.
The group argued that if their members were empowered and permitted to carry some light arms, they could bring the Boko Haram to its knees just like they did in Kalabalge local government area of the state where their members there rounded up over 150 Boko Haram members and killed them.
This view was advanced by the legal adviser of the Civilian JTF, Barrister Jibrin Gunda, and their spokesman, Bello Dambatta, during a chat with newsmen on the proposed move to extend the state of emergency in the states.
“The state of emergency just ended its second six months and, as far as we are concerned, it should not be extended any longer. Troops on ground are doing their best but they don’t have the sophistication of the terrorists.
“The president should provide modern fighting equipment and surveillance facilities for the soldiers to do the right thing. We believe that, even without emergency, troops can be deployed to any part of Borno and other states,” he said.
They vigilante group gave reasons why they should be allowed to carry arms like soldiers: “The Borno State government has done its best in supporting us through training and payment of our allowances which runs into millions of naira.
We have structures in all the 27 local government areas and our members are highly disciplined. We want arms so that we can take the fight to the insurgents in the bushes.
“We also need arms for our members to protect vulnerable civilians who are being attacked every day. In the south-south, youths have been empowered to protect oil installations. We want a similar gesture to protect our people here,” one said.
The spokesman of the Civilian JTF, Danbatta, lamented that despite their contributions towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency, which in most cases cost them the lives of their members, they were often not appreciated by the federal government.
“We want to let the world know that we have been actively participating in the arrest of many Boko Haram suspects, including those involved in the latest Nyanya bombing. In fact, we are the ones that sent our members to Abuja and worked with the SSS in arresting the suspects. Unfortunately, our name was not mentioned in the whole thing, as if our role was not appreciated.
“The president had once called us heroes but has never granted any financial or logistic support to our members who are risking their lives to keep the country one. We want the federal government to assist us,” he said.
Jonathan overwhelmed by Boko Haram challenge – Obasanjo
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said that President Goodluck Jonathan was overwhelmed by the challenge of dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Focus on Africa from Nairobi, Kenya, Obasanjo said, “No matter how well-meaning the president is, his assertion on ending Boko Haram has not been achieved. The president is overwhelmed.”
The former leader also suggested that dialogue could be the key to resolving the crisis.
Reminded that he once advocated a carrot-and-stick approach, Obasanjo said since the stick approach was not working, “is there anything wrong with the carrot? I doubt it”.
Obasanjo recalled the efforts he made to reach out to Boko Haram in 2011 after the attack on the UN House in Abuja by the militants which left 21 people dead and 73 injured.
“I took it upon myself to reach out to the group after consulting with the president. I went to Maiduguri to meet the families of those who were killed by the police through the help of the lawyer who represented them,” he said.
UK Foreign Office minister visits Nigeria over Chibok girls
Following the abduction of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls, the United Kingdom Foreign Office minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, visited Abuja on Wednesday for high-level meetings with Nigerian authorities to explore what further assistance and advice the UK can provide in support of Nigeria’s efforts to secure the girls’ release and to deal with the threat posed by the extremist group Boko Haram.
The UK team of experts, in Abuja since May 9, is working closely with the government of Nigeria and other international partners to provide assistance to Nigeria in dealing with this abduction and addressing longer-term challenges.
Also, the British high commissioner in Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, said, “The abductions have been traumatic for the Nigerian people. Britain, as a friend of Nigeria, is working urgently to help the Nigerian authorities in their efforts to find the girls and tackle longer-term challenges in the north such as education and stability.”
CDS, US–AFRICOM commander deliberate on Chibok girls
Both the Nigerian chief of defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, and the commander of the United States African Command (US-AFRICOM), Lieutenant General David Rodriguez, met off camera on Tuesday night to strategize on how to rescue the Chibok girls.
The United States is one of the world powers that have indicated interest and support for Nigeria in her efforts to free over 200 students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, one month ago.
Other notable nations include China, France, United Kingdom, Japan and some African countries. Most of them have pledged military support while some want to give intelligence assistance.
Speaking at the meeting, the CDS reportedly described the relationship between Nigeria and the United States as mutual and strategic.
We are now enagaging in counter-insurgency training – naval chief
The chief of naval staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jubril, yesterday in Abuja disclosed that the current security challenge has made the Navy training institutions embrace counter-insurgency training and warfare on the land.
Alau town in Borno under attack
Another town in Borno State, Alau, which is near the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), was yesterday attacked by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect.
Though details were sketchy at press time, LEADERSHIP gathered that the attack started at about 10.50pm and was ongoing at the time of going to press.
Military kills 60 insurgents in Jigawa
LEADERSHIP further gathered last night that the military killed about 60 suspected insurgents during a shootout with the Joint Military Taskforce at Lamba Forest in Gwaram local government area of Jigawa State.
No comments:
Post a Comment