Barring any last minute change in plan, President Goodluck Jonathan will on Friday(today) visit Chibok, the Borno State community where over 200 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on April 14.
A Presidency source made this known on Thursday just as it was gathered that the authorities of the Nigerian Army had removed the General Officer Commanding the 7th Infantry Division in Maiduguri, Borno State, Maj. Gen. Abubakar Mohammed.
Jonathan, according to our source, is visiting the troubled town to see for himself, the carnage done by the insurgents and hear from eyewitnesses.
As of the time of filing this report, members of his advance team had left Abuja for Maiduguri.
Jonathan is also expected to travel to Paris, France later in the day where he hoped to meet with his counterparts from Benin Republic, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
The meeting will centre on how Nigeria and its neighbours can strengthen and intensify collaboration against Boko Haram and other criminal organisations.
A statement on the Paris visit by Jonathan was later made available by Presidential spokesman, Dr. Ruben Abati.
It reads, "It is also expected that Britain, the United States of America and the European Union will be represented at the talks which will give special attention to the coordination and intensification of efforts to curtail the destabilising activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria and neighbouring countries in the wake of the recent abduction of college girls from Chibok, Borno State.
"President Jonathan, who will be accompanied by the Minister of Defence, Lt-Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd.), the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) as well as other principal aides and advisers, will return to Abuja at the conclusion of the summit on Saturday."
It was also gathered in Abuja that the Army authorities had appointed Brig.-Gen. M.Y. Ibrahim, as replacement for Abubakar, who narrowly escaped being hurt on Wednesday by soldiers protesting the killing of 10 of their colleagues by insurgents.
Ibrahim was appointed in acting capacity because the position is meant to be occupied by a major general.
The former GOC of the Division which coordinates the ongoing campaign against insurgents in the North-East, was expected to hand over to his successor Ibrahim on Thursday before his movement to Abuja.
The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade, confirmed the removal of Mohammed and his replacement in a telephone conversation with one of our correspondents.
Olukolade also confirmed that the military had commenced investigation into the mutiny.
Sources said that the fact-finding team of Military Police investigators left Abuja for Maiduguri on Thursday morning.
Investigations revealed that two soldiers attached to the former GOC as escorts were shot in their legs for guiding him into his armoured car, thereby facilitating his escape.
The injured soldiers are said to be receiving treatment at the medical centre of a military facility in Maiduguri.
It was further gathered that a captain was among the 10 soldiers whose killings triggered the soldiers' anger against Mohammed.
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GEJ, beware of the IDES OF MAY!!! May the mighty God guide you.
ReplyDeleteOur governments are now open to realities, they prefer advisers that will tell them what they want to hear rather than truth,now is time. To pay
ReplyDeleteIf Shetima is telling the world that BH is our FG problem then why is he opposed to extending state of emergency. Look at how a GOC wasted the lives of innocent soldiers and they are yet to tell us why they insisted in holding that exam at that unsecued location and who withdrew the security men attached to that school minutes before the BH struck. Their inability to invade kalamaga village shows that they are no match for our gallant soldiers just that Northern elders are the real BH.
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