The
military authorities have launched investigations into the attacks on the Nigerian
Air Force Base and other military formations by the Boko Haram insurgents in
the early hours on Monday.
It was disclosed yesterday in Abuja, just as the Nigerian Air Force deployed
more fighter jets in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The military leadership and investigators are working on the suspicion that the
daring attacks carried may have been facilitated by insider’s in collusion with
the insurgents.
Investigations showed that the leadership of the military was deeply concerned
with the realisation that the incident took place at a time the Special Forces
were planning one of the biggest offensives against the insurgents.
According to the source, the aim was to weaken the operation. The military
doubt that the attack timing was just a coincidence.
It was further gathered that the Air Force Base and other targets of the Monday
morning attacks were too strategic and fortified for insurgents to attack
without information.
What is more, the military authorities were shocked by the discovery that the
suspected terrorists planted Improvised Explosive Devices around the Air Force
base and the 333 Artillery Regiment with the intent to ambush troops from
carrying out rescue operations.
The source said that suspicion about insiders’ collaboration was further
deepened by the puzzle over how the insurgents successfully planted the IEDs,
which they exploded without being caught.
The military high command on Tuesday dispatched a high powered team of military
strategists led by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, to ascertain
the extent of the attack on the Nigerian Air Force base and other security
formations and to report back to Abuja.
The source said, “We are believing strongly that this incident was made possible by
insiders’ collaboration in terms of giving them information."
According to the source, a lot of
things point at this fact.
A security source who spoke to the
journalists on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to
speak on the issue, said that the Special Forces spotted and killed some of the
insurgents between Benisheik and Maiduguri.
The source said that the military had not collated the number of people killed
as the operation involved mainly air strikes.
Punch
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