members of the Shiites movement, attacked
his convoy last year
– Tukur Buratai said the army will make
sure that gallant soldiers who die in duty
are given befitting burial
Buratai has come under fire for his handling
of the Zaria massacre
Following the assassination attempt
on Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai in
December 2015, the chief of army staff, has
revealed that members of the Islamic
Movement in Nigeria, who belong to the
Shiites movement, attacked his convoy with
petrol bombs in Zaria, Kaduna state, News men reports.
Buratai made this revelation when he
received Air Commodore Yusuf Anas
(rtd), the Executive Secretary of the Centre
for Crisis Communication, who led the
management of the centre to pay him a
courtesy visit in his office.
The army chief also stated that the troops
of the Nigerian Army were gallant patriots
who had the interest of the corporate
existence and integrity of the Nigerian state
at heart and have sworn to do anything and
everything possible, including laying down
their lives, in order to the defend the
country.
Buratai said: “The Army will henceforth
ensure that gallant soldiers who die in action
are given a publicized befitting burial with full
military honours.
“In fact, even if it means conducting it in
arrears, we will ensure that our fallen heroes
are given befitting national burials. Aside from
that, we have also ensured that immediate
family members of our fallen officers and
soldiers receive prompt payment of all their
entitlements and other welfare supports.”
He further noted that the Nigerian troops
were engaged in various operations across
the country in line with its constitutional
responsibility.
Buratai on the recent face-off with the
Shiites group in Zaria, maintained the Army’s
position saying that there was nothing like
premeditated murder of some of the sect’s
members as alleged by such groups as
Amnesty International.
He said: “How can anybody accuse a
responsible armed agency of government of
murder?
“On the contrary, the people were attacking the
soldiers with petroleum bomb and other
weapons. In actual fact, not all of them knew
how to handle Molotov they were trying to use
it against the Army and it back fired on them.”
Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (Rtd), the
Executive Secretary of the Centre for Crisis
Communication, in his remarks earlier
commended the Nigerian Army for its
unwavering commitment to the defence of
the country from external aggression and
internal insurrection.
In another development, the Nigerian army
has reacted to the alleged killing of 347
members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria
(IMN).
The army said it did not give the figure of
the bodies it released to the Kaduna state
government, adding that it only handed a
few bodies to the government
representative.
0 comments:
Post a Comment