•Allegations misleading —Army chief
THE Amnesty International on Wednesday, said that the Nigerian military were repeatedly warned of impending Boko Haram attacks on Baga and Monguno, which claimed hundreds of lives, but failed to take adequate action to protect civilians.
According to a senior military source and other evidences gathered by Amnesty International, commanders at the military base in Baga regularly informed military headquarters in November and December 2014, of the threat of Boko Haram sect’s attacks and repeatedly requested reinforcements.
“Other military sources and witnesses have told Amnesty International that the military in Monguno had an advanced warning of the Boko Haram sect’s attack on January 25.
“It is clear from this evidence, that Nigeria’s military leadership woefully and repeatedly failed in their duty to protect civilians of Baga and Monguno, despite repeated warnings about impending threats posed by the Boko Haram sect,” said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Africa Director.
“These attacks are an urgent wake-up call for the Nigerian leadership, the African Union and the international community. It is essential to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians in the North-East Nigeria from Boko Haram’s continued onslaught.”
According to a senior military source, long before the attack on Baga, the Multinational Joint Task Force based in the town, informed military headquarters in Abuja about sightings of Boko Haram patrols and build-ups of its fighters. They also told the headquarters ahead the attacks, that civilians in surrounding towns and villages were fleeing the area in large numbers.
Sources told Amnesty International that after the Baga attack on January 3, the Boko Haram members informed locals that their “next target is Monguno” and that these civilians informed the local military.
One Monguno resident told the Amnesty International: “There was a warning. Everyone was aware. Boko Haram members came on Wednesday, January 21 and asked the villagers in nearby Ngurno to leave, because they were coming to attack the barracks. The villagers told the soldiers.”
According to witnesses, the local military did not make an effort in this regard.
“On January 29, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council is expected to discuss the deployment of a possible regional force against the Boko Haram sect.
“If such a force were to be deployed, it is vital that it has a clear mandate to protect civilians and that all parties engaging in military deployment comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” said Netsanet Belay.
Reacting to the allegation, the Director, Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, said “being an area of operation where terrorists are known to be ever looking for the slightest opportunity to attack and perpetrate heinous atrocities, Nigerian troops are conversant with the need to maintain the highest form of alertness always.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the army chief said every available information was factored into the intelligence that drove every engagement or encounter in any part of the mission area.
“This standard had not only been sustained, but has been incrementally enhanced in terms of capacity, troop’s deployment, coordination, troop’s mobility and protection as well as logistics.
“Regular patrols, surveillance, pursuit and actual combat engagement to curtail or forestall terrorists’ activities and threats were also conducted. This has substantially succeeded in preventing, frustrating or minimising the effect of terrorists’ dastardly intentions and actions. This also accounts for why the main intention of terrorists attack on Maiduguri and other places could not succeed.
“The effort of Amnesty International to use these unfortunate activities of terrorists to find fault with the counter-terrorism operations as usual, is inaccurate and unfair.
“In actual fact, the protection of civilian population is the essence the entire counter-terrorism operation. It, therefore, remains the priority in all and the troops were prepared and duly engaged the terrorists in all the instances referred to by Amnesty International.
“The misleading conclusions by Amnesty International could have been avoided if it had made meaningful efforts to verify the inciting allegations. Whatever be the intention, the allegations, at best, can only constitute a distractive and misleading commentary or interpretation of the terrorists’ activities, the efforts to curb them and the actual situation on the ground in Nigeria.”
It added that the Nigerian security forces remain willing and are capable of discharging the responsibility of defending the country’s territory and people.
Source: Tribune
