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.
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.
To face court-martial
A board of inquiry is
investigating the conduct of the officers for acts of negligence among other
offences.
Military 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.
Military extends restriction of vehicular movement in Maiduguri.
Meanwhile, the ban on
vehicular movements in Maiduguri, which was to last from 5 pm last Friday till
7 am today has been extended till tomorrow.
The ban was imposed following intelligence reports that Boko Haram
terrorists will attack mosques, markets and other public places during the
sallah period.
A statement by the Deputy
Director, Army Public Relations of 7 Division Col. Sanni Usman, said “all
necessary security measures are being implemented, while members of the public
are hereby requested to comply fully with this embargo as defaulters will be severely
sanctioned”.
He said, however, that
workers on essential services such as hospitals and fire services with clear
identification are exempted from the restriction.
Colonel Usman then advised
members of the public to report any suspicious movement of persons or vehicles
around their environment to the nearest security agencies.
Vanguard
height of lawlessness
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