More than 10 senior Nigerian Army officers, including a
Brigadier-General have been arrested and are telling the military
hierarchy what they know about the Baga attack by the insurgent group,
Boko Haram.
According to the Director of Defence Information, Major-General
Chris Olukolade, the senior army officers are being investigated for
allegedly shirking their responsibilities during the attack by the
militants.
Those arrested are Brigadier-General Enitan
Ransome-Kuti, his Chief of Staff Lt. Colonel G.A Suru. Others are the
Commanding Officer of 134 and 174 battalions, Lt. Colonel Haruna and a
certain Major aliyu.
The two Nigerian Army battalions are under the Multi-National Task
Joint Task Force in Baga, attacked by the insurgents. Speaking on the
arrest, General Olukolade said that the arrested officers were being
investigated because at the time of the attack on the multinational
headquarters in Baga, Brigadier-General Ransome-Kuti and his men were
fully in charge of the military formation.
He said it was disappointing that the attack on Baga was not
repelled by both battalions, despite having the necessary weapons to
carry out the necessary operations. On January 3, 2015, suspected
members of Boko Haram attacked the base of the Multinational Task Force
in Baga, Borno State, dislodging the soldiers there. Reports say the
troops were warned to be on alert following intelligence reports that
terrorists would strike between January 22 and January 25.
Eyewitnesses said that the attack started around 5am when residents
started hearing gunshots as the insurgents tried to gain entrance into
the MNJTF premises. Many civilians living in the barracks were said to
have been killed during the attack.
Source: Channels TV
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