The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, yesterday disclosed that officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army were leaking vital information on military operations to the Boko Haram insurgents.
Ihejirika, who made the disclosure yesterday warned men of the Nigerian Army to desist from such terrible acts or face the music.
He read the riot act in Abuja at the opening ceremony of a three-day Army Transformation Seminar with the theme “Building capacity of the Nigerian Army to meet contemporary challenges.”
The COAS said: “Let me
use this opportunity to warn officers and soldiers who indulge in giving out information both from Army Headquarters and other formations certain vital information that had one way or the other worked negatively in our operations.
“There are also some other soldiers that have been found posting negative comments in the internet and also some had been engaged in conversing with insurgents.”
He said any officer or soldier linked, one way or the other, to the insurgents would be sanctioned.
To buttress this point, the Army chief disclosed that a soldier that gave out information on the movement of troops to Mali and were subsequently attacked near Okene, Kogi State, had been apprehended and he would be court-martialled.
Ihejirika said the seminar could not have come at a better time when the country was grappling with security challenges, some of which threaten the nation’s corporate existence.
He said that the Directorate of Military Intelligence, DMI, the Military Police and commanders in the field had been encouraged to continue the monitoring activity, adding that military service was based on patriotism.
Ihejirika, however, said he was impressed with the choice of theme of the seminar.
“I have also noted that series of lecture outlined in the programme, which is centred on management and human resource development in the Army. The theme was central to the attainment of my vision which is “to transform the Army to a force better ableto meet contemporary challenges.”
Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Senator Thompson Sekibo, commended the Army for the sacrifice it had made in the line of duty and in furtherance of national interest and cohesion.
He noted the steadfastness and conduct of the officers and soldiers in meeting with the current security challenges facing the nation.
The senator said the professionalism, patriotism and selflessness with which the officers and soldiers respond to internal security challenges, especially the wave of terrorism are both reassuring and commendable.
Sekibo said the present administration was aware of all the daunting challenges facing them and the National Assembly would ensure that all their demands were met.
He asked the Army to continue to uphold public confidence in maintaining law and order in their internal security and peace support operations.
The Chief of Army Transformation, Maj-Gen. Ibrahim Sani, said the essence of the Army transformation was for greater effectiveness, to be ready for today’s challenges and prepare for emerging and evolving future threats.
“This requires the Nigerian Army to think differently and develop the kind of force and capabilities that can adapt quickly to the myriad evolving contemporary threats,” Sani said.
He said the Army Transformation and Innovation Centre recognised the importance of human resource element in the attainment of COAS’ vision.
Sani said the event was to elicit new methods of optimising Army human resources management based on continuous improvement of management skills and procedure.
Meanwhile, amid the speculations that high-profile terrorist suspects, like Kabiru Sokoto and others whose cases are already in court, would enjoy “presidential reprieve,” the Presidency has said that the measure was only for wives and children of the Boko Haram sect members.
It, however, added that others releases would be effected later.
The Presidency also said that the gesture was in accordance with the recommendations contained in the interim report by the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peace in Northern Nigeria that measure be adopted as part of government’s strategies to solve the security challenges in the North.
In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, the Presidency said that the order for the release of the detainees would be in phases.
He said: “Concerning the first batch, the emphasis is on women and children who have been in detention on suspicion of involvement and/or connection with insurgency in some parts of the country.”
The Federal Government on Tuesday announced its decision to release some suspected members of the deadly Boko Haram Islamic sect, their wives and children, who had been held in various detention centres across the country.
The action, which it said was based on the recommendation of the amnesty committee, would see the suspects being handed over to their respective state governors for consequent rehabilitation before they would be finally released to their community leaders and families.
But Okupe made further clarifications on the directive for the release of some people.
He said: “This will be followed by other phased releases where cases will be treated on their individual merits by the Defence authorities and security agencies.
“The presidential directive was as a result of the interim report by the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peace in Northern Nigeria which recommended the measure as part of government’s multi-faceted strategies at solving the security challenges posed by the activities of the sect.
“This directive by Mr. President further proves that the Federal Government has not foreclosed dialogue as a viable option in its bid to put an end to insurgency and terrorist activities in the Northern part of the country.
“It is expected that this phased release of detainees will encourage those who wish to embrace the peace option to come out and take advantage of the dialogue and peace option provided by the Committee put in place by government.”
Also, the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has commended the Federal Government’s decision to release some Boko Haram suspects.
In a communiqué signed by the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Fati Ibrahim, the forum called on the government to provide relief materials to the affected suspects.
ACF also urged the Federal Government to comply with the resolutions of the National Assembly on the proclamation of the state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states, especially on the funding and sustenance of the military campaign.
The communiqué called on the Federal Government to allow human rights monitors and observers full access to areas involved in the current military campaigns to ascertain the methods being applied.
Also, Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima has described the planned release as “a welcome development”.
Shettima spoke yesterday through his Chief Press Secretary, Isa Umar Gusau, in a statement made available to newsmen in Maiduguri, the state capital.
He noted that releasing the detainees would further show the commitment and sincerity of the Federal Government to the peace negotiation, which should attract the sect members to the negotiation table and increase community participation in the process.
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