MUBI BATTLE: ARMY ARRESTS SIX SENIOR OFFICERS FOR FLEEING

Six military commanders, including an injured Lieutenant Colonel, have been arrested by the military for withdrawing from Mararaba, Michika, Madagali, Mubi and later Vimtim when Boko Haram insurgents attacked the communities last week.
It was learnt that an unspecified number of soldiers were also in detention for allegedly abandoning thecommunities, thereby making easy for the insurgents to have an upper hand.
A reliable military source, who made this known in Abuja on Sunday said the movement of five of the commanders had been restricted to the officers mess in a military formation.
The source, who did not name the military formation, because of security reason, added that “one of them, a Leutenant Colonel is receiving treatment at the MRS in Yola for serious injuries he sustained when the car in which he was escaping with somersaulted several times.”

DEFENCE HEADQUARTERS RETRACTS STATEMENT ON RESCUE OF CHIBOK GIRLS, SAYS IT’S NO LONGER SURE

The Defence Headquarters has retracted its earlier statement confirming the rescue of the abducted Chibok girls. The spokesperson for the defence headquarters, Chris Olukolade, had told PREMIUM TIMES that a yet unclear number of the girls had been freed and driven in two Toyota Hiace buses to the Maimalari Barracks, the headquarters of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri. But less than 30 minutes after he spoke to us, Mr. Olukolade called back to say he was withdrawing his earlier statement. He said he had been having difficulty establishing contact with his colleagues in Maiduguri and that he was no longer sure that the girls driven into the barracks were newly rescued.

WHY THE ABDUCTED GIRLS HAVE NOT BEEN FREED— CDS BADEH

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh said on Wednesday that though the military know the location of the over 200 girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State over two weeks ago, it is mindful of deploying its full might to rescue them for the safety of the students.
Badeh said the insurgents may kill the girls if the military deploy its full strength to rescue them. But he assured that assured that the military would free the girls.
“It is not the number of those abducted that is the issue but the attendant psychological trauma of every parent.
“We were given information about where they are. We cannot use heavy power attack because we will kill the school girls but I assure you that we will free them’’, he said.
The Air Chief Marshal made the remark when the Board and Management of National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, paid a visit to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday also condemned the insurgents, describing their activities as “pure madness.”

DEFENCE HQ DENIES REPORT ON OPERATIONAL BLUNDERS

The Defence Headquarters has denied a front page story carried by Daily Trust yesterday titled “operational blunders, poor supplies causing military losses.”
A statement yesterday by the Director (Information) Defence Headquarters, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade, refuted the report claiming it followed the pattern of reports by some online media.