There were
indications, weekend, that the Army High Command has ordered the arrest and
detention of a Brigadier-General attached to the 3rd Division of the Nigerian
Army (names with-held) over allegations of negligence that gave Boko Haram
terrorists an opportunity to overrun some communities in Borno State recently.
It was gathered that
the senior officer who hails from one of the states in the South West, was the
officer coordinating the military onslaught to dislodge several Boko Haram
terrorists from Bama, Gwoza, Madagali, Michika and other communities in Borno
and Adamawa states that later fell into the hands of the terrorists.
The General was
accused of providing poor leadership and failed to instil confidence in the
soldiers, resulting in several soldiers allegedly abandoning the fight against
the terrorists while several of them lost their lives.
According to the
source, when the Boko Haram insurgents came in full force to attack Bama,some
top brass of the unit offered no resistance by running into the bush.
The source
disclosed that the insurgents entered the Brigade Headquarters and Armoury
freely and carted away vehicles and Tanks.
President of the
Court Martial, Brigadier General. Musa Sain Yusuf after the Inauguration of
Court Martial to try soldiers accused of mutiny tasked with fighting Boko Haram
militants in Abuja on October 2, 2014
Some of the
commanders were rescued from the bush by a battalion deployed at Konduga, which
was stationed about 15 kilometers behind Bama, the last deployment before
Maiduguri.
The Military
high command was said to be furious that the insurgents after taking over Bama
and killing hundreds of civilians ransacked the armoury with no soldier
offering resistance, leaving the insurgents to have a free day.
According to the
source; after seizing the equipment at the 21 Brigade Bama, the terrorists used
the same weapons to attack the infantry battalion at Konduga but met their
waterloo where hundreds of the Boko Haram insurgents were killed.
The source added
that the 21 Armoured Brigade which had several armoured tanks could not
withstand the battle that was later decided by less than 400 infantry soldiers
in Konduga.
It was further
gathered that after running away from Bama, some top brass of the brigade and
about 800 troops went straight to Maiduguri instead of joining the troops in
Konduga to repel the attack.
It was also gathered
that a board of inquiry is investigating the conduct of the officers for
acts of negligence among other offences.
Military sources
said that Boko Haram terrorists were not really better armed in the terror war
but rather leadership of troops on ground has been discovered as a problem that
needed to be tackled.
Giving an
instance, a source said: “Commanders of troops are supposed to lead soldiers
from the frontline but what we discovered is that most of the commanders
operate and give orders from the rear.
“If not that our
soldiers are rugged and know that the Boko Haram terrorists could not match
them professionally, what we are seeing today would have been the opposite.
Actually, when terrorists see soldiers coming, they run for their lives, but
due to poor leadership, the back-up arrangements are not activated. When
soldiers therefore run out of ammunition and the terrorists regroup, soldiers
will have no other choice than to retreat”.
The source cited
the successes recorded severally in the battles to take over Konduga as the
perfect way the Nigeria Army operates, noting that even though there were four
different attacks with heavy weaponry, the army was able to defeat them and
recovered stolen weapons.
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Yoruba people sabi fear .
ReplyDeleteyeruba na there way, fear fear!
ReplyDeleteHe who fights and run, lives to fight another day. Na d proverb him follow. Yorubas no b cowards.
ReplyDelete