20th December, 2020
By Muhaimin Olowoporoku
A former Director, Military Intelligence, retired Major General. Ahmed Jibrin has said Boko Haram was not behind the kidnap of boys at the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State.
Jibrin, who is the Special Technical Adviser to the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd.) said Boko Haram where only seeking cheap relevance claiming to be responsible for the abduction.
“(Abubakar) Shekau does not have the reach to carry out the abduction because a lot is being done to stop them in the North-East.
“He is just taking advantage of what happened to get publicity locally and internationally; it is clear that the abduction was done by bandits.
“All their efforts when they were trying to reach out to the bandits, which they did, were monitored,’’ he said.
Gen. Ahmed Jibrin made this claims when he featured in a special edition of the Nigerian Television Authority programme, “Good Morning Nigeria” alongside Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. John Enenche on Saturday.
Both parties spoke on how the boys were released from captivity and how the military neutralized the bandits during the resucue operation.
After the abduction of the boys in their school, Jibrin said the Minister of Defence, led a delegation, including the Service Chiefs and the National Security Adviser, to Katsina and Kankara.
The retired army general said the minister gave the rules of engagement. He (the minister) directed the troops to ensure that the abducted boys were rescued without casualties and within the shortest time possible.
Jibrin said afterwards, the troops closed in on the abductors from four different fronts, including the reinforcement that was made from other divisions, to ensure that the entire location was sealed off.
He said the bandits were under seige and they were fully aware as they felt the impact and presence of the troops.
“When they approached the location where the boys were held, the troops encountered some pockets of opposition which they cleared and moved deeper into the forest.
He noted that even as there were no casualties among the boys, the army neutralized a lot of bandits as they laid ambush in two places while trying to move foward.
Jibrin said while the troops were on the field, negotiations were ongoing at another level of the rescue efforts.
He said the troops could not completely demobilise the bandits because of possible collateral damage as the abducted boys were used as human shields.
Maj. Gen. John Enenche said the mission was a delicate operation because if it was not carried out very professionally, the tide could turn negatively.
“This is an operation where you do not rely on your capacity on platforms and mechanical weapons but your ability to effectively carry out the mission with unarmed combat.
“This means you have to silence your enemies and take your objective away without firing a shot.
“It is very delicate in the sense that if you do not manage the operation well, the children who are in-between you and the enemies will now become the victims.
Security operatives would be blamed in such a scenario he explained.
The 344 captured students were rescued from bandits on Thursday and have been reunited with their families.