Nigerian Army Arrests Brig-General, Others Over Baga Attack

More than 10 senior Nigerian Army officers, including a Brigadier-General have been arrested and are telling the military hierarchy what they know about the Baga attack by the insurgent group, Boko Haram.

According to the Director of Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, the senior army officers are being investigated for allegedly shirking their responsibilities during the attack by the militants.

According to a report monitored on Channels TV, those arrested are Brigadier-General Enitan Ransome-Kuti; his Chief of Staff, Lt. Colonel G.A Suru; the Commanding Officer of 134 and 174 battalions, Lt. Colonel Haruna and a certain Major Aliyu.

The two Nigerian Army battalions are under the Multi-National Task Joint Task Force in Baga, attacked by the insurgents.

Speaking on the arrest, General Olukolade said that the arrested officers were being investigated because at the time of the attack on the multinational headquarters in Baga, Brigadier-General Ransome-Kuti and his men were fully in charge of the military formation.

He said it was disappointing that the attack on Baga was not repelled by both battalions, despite having the necessary weapons to carry out the necessary operations.

On January 3, 2015, suspected members of Boko Haram attacked the base of the Multinational Task Force in Baga, Borno State, dislodging the soldiers there.

Reports say the troops were warned to be on alert following intelligence reports that terrorists would strike between January 22 and January 25.

Eyewitnesses said that the attack started around 5am when residents started hearing gunshots as the insurgents tried to gain entrance into the MNJTF premises.

Many civilians living in the barracks were said to have been killed during the attack.