We Can’t Protect All Schools In The North – Army

The Nigeria military says it lacks the workforce to protect all Nigerian schools located in the Northern part of the country against terrorist attacks.

Defence Spokesperson, Brigadier General John Agim, said this on Friday, when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television Breakfast Programme, Sunrise Daily.

Agim explained that due to the huge land mass, especially in the Northeast, it is difficult to deploy troops to schools.

The Defence spokesman who lauded efforts of the Federal government in securing the release of the girls, emphasised that the military cannot deploy to schools like some people are demanding.

“The military doesn’t have the manpower to deploy (troops) to all the schools. It is very difficult… it is not possible,” he said.

“People don’t know the land mass that we have in the north-east and the number of troops that are deployed in that place.”

Agim also denied allegations that the failure of the military contributed to the recent abduction of 110 schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe state.

He said the troops were redeployed for other assignments few weeks before the terrorists invaded the school.

Recall that on the 19th of February, 2018, 110 school students from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State where abducted Boko Haram.

The incident was the second-largest abduction ever recorded in the country, after 276 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno state were kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents in April, 2014.

“Where the military was deployed in Dapchi, they (the troops) were taken away. They were deployed for other assignments. So, it is possible that the Boko Haram can operate in a place for a long time without the military presence,” he said.

“They were withdrawn out of Dapchi for another assignment on January 10 and this attack took place on February 19.”