by James Sambo
The conflicting reports about the recapture of Bama from Boko Haram insurgents has raised pertinent questions this morning.
Punch newspapers stated that the Nigerian Army has launched a major operation to liberate from Boko Haram, Bama, in Borno State, while the same report said that a source revealed that the town had already been liberated.
Bama was captured by the Boko Haram terrorists in September 2014.
According to the report, an intelligence source stated that the military was expecting a positive result from the operation to retrieve the town.
The source was quoted to have said: “The battle for Bama has started; troops have started going in. You know that the Air Force was deployed last week to carry out targeted bombardment of the town. Bama promises to be a tough one because those people have fortified the place; they planted mines around the town but our soldiers are in high spirits.”
“By the Grace of God, we are expecting results tomorrow. The aerial bombardment started at the weekend and now the ground troops are moving in.”
The same Punch report subsequently stated that another military source claimed that the town has been liberated.
While saying that jubilation rent the air in the Maimalari Barracks, Maiduguri, after the operation, the source reportedly added that the General Officer Commanding the division, Lamidi Adeosun, led the operation.
He said: “We are happy that our Commander-in-Chief(President Good-luck Jonathan) has been able to upgrade us and as we speak, we have the right equipment to end the war in the next one week. The GOC is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that we meet the deadline for elections.”
“The general did not even use our crack boys in Konduga. He just took his team from our supply of new boys here and drove straight into Bama on Monday, leaving the Konduga guys to rest till we took over Bama, chased the bad people out, removed their flag and installed our authority.”
As it stands, the true picture of the state of Bama can only be ascertained when the Army spokespersons come out to address the matter.
I commend our military. More power to their elbows .