Army Base Attack: Probe Buhari’s Govt For Ignoring Early Warning, PDP Tells NASS

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration ignored early warnings to prevent the attack on the Metele military base in Borno State that led to the death of scores of Nigerian soldiers

Recall that some foreign media agencies had reported that the military lost as many as 100 troops in the attack on 157 Task Force Battalion of the Army by a faction of Boko Haram terrorists known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on October 18.

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Although the military has yet to release official casualty figures in the attack, the Service faulted figures quoted in some international news mediums.

Reacting to the development in a statement on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP asked the National Assembly to “commence an extensive investigation into alleged compromises that led to the killing of over 100 Nigerian soldiers by insurgents, particularly as the Buhari Presidency has refused to come forth with explanations on the issue.”

The opposition party, which held that the Buhari regime was condoning extra-judicial killing in the country, asked the legislative arm of the Federal Government to also carry out “an immediate forensic inquiry into the reported killing of a principal witness in the Offa robbery incident, Michael Adikwu, in the custody of the Police in Kwara State.”

According to the PDP, the investigation became necessary especially “given reports of compromises and alleged failure of the authorities to promptly act on a reported threat by insurgents to attack the base and other military locations in the area, few days before the attack.”

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The party’s statement further reads: “This is in addition to a disturbing video, circulating in the public domain, showing soldiers, weeks before the attack, giving accounts of their neglect by the authorities, resulting in their vulnerability to insurgents.

“This is particularly worrisome given apprehensions that President Muhammadu Buhari has been distracting the military by dragging our Service Chiefs to participate in his re-election campaign activities, instead of concentrating on their statutory duties.

“Moreover, the apparent insensitivity of the Buhari Presidency to the killing as well as alleged moves by the authorities to sweep the matter under the carpet has created despondency among the citizens.

“The PDP therefore urges the National Assembly to unravel the compromises leading to the killing of our soldiers and those behind them.

“Similarly, the PDP insists that an inquest into the extra-judicial killing of the principal suspect in the Offa robbery has become essential following conflicting reports by the police over the cause and circumstances surrounding the death in its custody.

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“The PDP invites Nigerians to note that the Police had initially claimed that the witness was killed in the course of arrest, it later claimed that he died in the course of investigation, only to again declare that he was discovered dead just as he was about to be taken to court.

“The PDP notes that the conflicting reports by the police only point towards an attempt to cover a case of extra-judicial killing, ostensibly with a view to mute vital information and derail the course of justice in the matter which has since assumed a political dimension targeted at key opposition leaders.

“The PDP therefore calls for a public investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killing, which will require an open questioning of all those involved on the arrest and detention of the suspect,” stated the PDP.

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