A Nigerian soldier currently serving in Borno state has alleged that members of the Boko Haram attacked Gamboru Ngala in their presence but that their commander instructed them not to repel the insurgents.
The soldier who did not want to be named told the Afrika Herald correspondent that apart from foot soldiers, choppers were seen hovering in the air while the attacks were ongoing, but no assistance was rendered to the people.
Gamboru Ngala, a neighbouring community in the Nigeria-Cameroon border was attacked on May 5 where over 300 people were killed with many houses and a market completely razed down.
The soldier said: “What I saw the day the attack took place really surprised me. Not only me, even my other colleagues were surprised, and we were all afraid. We entered Gamboru Ngala town few minutes to 5pm, we heard loud sounds and saw thick smokes from around the Gamboru market.
“We then realized that it was the market that was set ablaze. As we got to our camp at Gamboru, before our commander went to his office, he told the soldiers that nobody should dare go close to the town.
“He further said an all-round defence be deployed to guard our camp. But even when we were coming, we saw that soldiers with armoured tanks and all the weapons, police and members of Civilian JTF had already surrounded our camp,” he said.
The soldier said “Instead of him to direct us to go and face the insurgents, since we’re soldiers who know how to attack them, and the Civilian JTF are from the town who know where we would follow to enter the town so that the insurgents would not see us,” that was not done.
Asked if he suspected any foul play, the soldier said: “Exactly, we thought it was a set up. If he had allowed us to go into Gamboru town, I’m sure no member of Boko Haram would have escaped that day, because we soldiers were more than 200, and the Civilian JTF told us that only about 50 of the insurgents had guns. But we were shocked when our CO asked us not to go.”
The soldier also said that the Boko Haram insurgency could only be tackled if their “superiors remove their hands from the matter.”
“If our superiors don’t remove their hands from this issue, I can assure you the Boko Haram insurgency would not be tackled. We saw a chopper right at the point the insurgents were operating giving them cover.
“We learnt those in the chopper were instructed to attack the armoured tank brought by the insurgents, but that was not done. If they didn’t allow us to face the insurgents, why didn’t the chopper attack? That is where you’ll see complicity clearly,” he added.
However, chairman of the National Information Centre on security and Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mike Omeri, said the allegations were baseless.
“You know Nigerian soldiers are experts; they know what they’re doing. If they ever get such information, they immediately swing into action and do the right thing.
“We heard about the incident of Gamboru Ngala that soldiers were initially told about the attack. But we later discovered it wasn’t true. I am sure whatever comes to our soldiers, they investigate to see what it is and tackle it,” he said.
Boko Haram: Former Commandant Warns Nigerians To Prepare For War
A former Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Brig.-Gen. Williams Obene (retd.), on We…dnesday advised Nigerians to prepare for war, saying the Boko Haram insurgency would likely last another 10 years, despite foreign intervention.
Obene, who pioneered the Nigerian Army Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency Centre, told The Punch that the recent bomb attacks in Kano and Jos were signs of asymmetrical warfare such as insurgency.
According to him, it’s unrealistic to expect security forces to bring Boko Haram insurgency to an end within the next six months earmarked for the extended state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
He said, “The attacks on Kano and Jos did not come to me as surprises. In asymmetrical warfare, such as we are faced with, these things are to be expected. Nigerians need to come to terms with the fact that we are at war and it is not a conventional war, where the enemy can be identified.
“Let’s not delude ourselves to think that we are going to use the military to stop the insurgency in six months.
“The Senators have said they would monitor the state of emergency in the North-East on a monthly basis, and would call it off if they don’t see improvement. My question is: what is the alternative to the state of emergency? In fact, we should declare total war. Nigerians should prepare for war.”
Obene predicted that Boko Haram would eventually infiltrate every part of the country and would be able to carry out attacks in any state.
He urged Nigerians, irrespective of what part of the country they reside, to be vigilant and ready for war.
“Politicians should stop deceiving Nigerians that this insurgency can stop in six months. This thing has come to stay with us for a long time. It took some other countries several years to deal with insurgency.
“Ours might last up to 10 years, or even more because of the involvement of politicians,” he said.
