Our Correspondents
Strong indications have emerged that
troops and security personnel involved in the ongoing counter-terrorism
campaign against Boko Haram are unhappy with the release of five top
Boko Haram commanders, Saturday TOBILOBA has learnt.
The commanders were said to have been
released in exchange for the 21 of the Chibok schoolgirls who regained
their freedom on Thursday.
Some security personnel, who confided in
one of our correspondents, said that while the return of the girls is
worth celebrating, those in the armed services are not pleased with what
Nigeria gave in exchange for the girls.
Investigations revealed that the
military expressed reservations about the swap which saw the release of
five terrorist commanders in exchange for the 21 girls.
Troops and some military commanders are
further worried by the fact that the release of terrorist commanders
could impact negatively on the ongoing campaign to flush out the
insurgents from the North-East.
It was further gathered that some of the
troops were not happy that Boko Haram commanders, who had killed
civilians and security personnel, were traded for the girls.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur
Buratai, reportedly said on Wednesday that the Army had rescued over two
million captives from the Boko Haram sect to date.
The Chief of Civil Military Relations of
the Nigerian Military, Maj.-Gen. Peter John, said this while
representing Buratai at a recent event organised by the Coalition of
Civil Society Groups to mark the United Nations World Peace Day.
The Army, which is leading other
services in the fight against the insurgency in the North-East, has been
engrossed in the search for the Chibok girls.
Investigations, however, revealed that
senior military figures in strategic places only knew of the release of
the girls when the news broke on Thursday.
However, a top military figure said that
the information on the negotiation for the release of the Chibok girls
was not meant to be known to the public.
The source said the negotiation was purely the responsibility of the political leadership.
This, he said does not in any way foreclose, the ongoing military operation in the area.
The source said, “You must understand
that it is not all information that we release to people. The lives of
those girls were at stake. Negotiations securely rest on the shoulders
of political leaders, but that does not mean that military operations
will not continue. We must protect the civilian populace from attacks
and build confidence in the citizenry.
“It was a political decision; we are
under the political leadership. We derive our mandate from the
constitution as provided for by democratic governance.
“The military action must continue and
it is going on as planned. We are working round the clock, in concert
with other security agencies, to ensure that the remaining girls are
also rescued.”
Our correspondent could not get the
Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, to
comment on the story as calls to his mobile telephone line did not
connect.
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