A Presidency source made this known on Thursday just as The PUNCH gathered that the authorities of the Nigerian Army had removed the General Officer Commanding the 7th Infantry Division in Maiduguri, Borno State, Maj. Gen. Abubakar Mohammed.
Jonathan, according to our source, is visiting the troubled town to see for himself, the carnage done by the insurgents and hear from eyewitnesses.
As of the time of filing this report, members of his advance team had left Abuja for Maiduguri.
Jonathan is also expected to travel to Paris, France later in the day where he hoped to meet with his counterparts from Benin Republic, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
The meeting will centre on how Nigeria and its neighbours can strengthen and intensify collaboration against Boko Haram and other criminal organisations.
A statement on the Paris visit by Jonathan was later made available by Presidential spokesman, Dr. Ruben Abati.
It reads, “It is also expected that Britain, the United States of America and the European Union will be represented at the talks which will give special attention to the coordination and intensification of efforts to curtail the destabilising activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria and neighbouring countries in the wake of the recent abduction of college girls from Chibok, Borno State.
“President Jonathan, who will be accompanied by the Minister of Defence, Lt-Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd.), the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) as well as other principal aides and advisers, will return to Abuja at the conclusion of the summit on Saturday.”
The PUNCH also gathered in Abuja that the Army authorities had appointed Brig.-Gen. M.Y. Ibrahim, as replacement for Abubakar, who narrowly escaped being hurt on Wednesday by soldiers protesting the killing of 10 of their colleagues by insurgents.
Ibrahim was appointed in acting capacity because the position is meant to be occupied by a major general.
The former GOC of the Division which coordinates the ongoing campaign against insurgents in the North-East, was expected to hand over to his successor Ibrahim on Thursday before his movement to Abuja.
The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade, confirmed the removal of Mohammed and his replacement in a telephone conversation with one of our correspondents.
Olukolade also confirmed that the military had commenced investigation into the mutiny.
Sources said that the fact-finding team of Military Police investigators left Abuja for Maiduguri on Thursday morning.
Investigations revealed that two soldiers attached to the former GOC as escorts were shot in their legs for guiding him into his armoured car, thereby facilitating his escape.
The injured soldiers are said to be receiving treatment at the medical centre of a military facility in Maiduguri.
It was further gathered that a captain was among the 10 soldiers whose killings triggered the soldiers’ anger against Mohammed.
US blasts FG, seeks sanctions on B’ Haram
The United States has however criticised the Federal Government for being too slow to adapt in response to Boko Haram’s threat.
Pentagon’s Principal Director for African Affairs, Alice Friend, and the US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Robert Jackson, made the accusation in the testimony they provided to the Senate’s Africa Subcommittee hearing.
Sixteen US Department of Defence personnel with medical, intelligence, counter-terrorism and communications expertise have already been assigned to boost government’s efforts to rescue the abducted schoolgirls.
“In general, Nigeria has failed to mount an effective campaign against Boko Haram,” Reuters quoted Friend as saying.
“The Department has been deeply concerned for some time by how much the government of Nigeria has struggled to keep pace with Boko Haram’s growing capabilities,” she added.
Friend,who also accused Nigerian security forces of being slow to adapt to the threat from the Boko Haram, said, “more troubling” was that they perpetrated atrocities during operations against insurgents.
Going by the atrocities, she explained, U.S. human rights law would bar providing assistance to them.
“Our intent is to support Nigerian-led efforts to recover the girls and help catalyse greater efforts to secure the Nigerian population from the menace of Boko Haram,” Friend said.
She added that Pentagon and the Department of State were developing a “regional response” to Boko Haram to improve border security along Nigeria’s frontiers with Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
The intention, according to her, is to detect and respond to the movement of Boko Haram members between Nigeria and its neighbours.
On his part, Jackson, in his prepared testimony, said that Washington had been urging Nigeria to reform its approach to Boko Haram.
“When soldiers destroy towns, kill civilians and detain innocent people with impunity, mistrust takes root,” he stated.
The State Department spokesperson, Jen Psaki, had earlier cautioned the Federal Government against expecting quick results from the surveillance flights over the North-East in search for the abducted girls.
A report by a US website, military.com, quoted Psaki as saying that the security personnel had flown many surveillance flights over Sambisa forest where the girls are believed to be held.
Psaki added that the US was pressing for the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions on Boko Haram.
He said, “US officials have cautioned against expecting quick results from the surveillance flights.
“The initial search area includes the Sambisa forest and is about the size of New England.
“We’ve provided commercial satellite imagery and are flying manned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft over Nigeria with the government’s permission.
“We’re also working closely with international partners on the ground broadly about the entire effort, including with the UK and France. In New York, we’re continuing to press for additional multilateral action, including UN Security Council sanctions on Boko Haram.
“As you know, of course, this is a difficult mission, and we’re looking for the girls in an area roughly the size of New England. So we continue to work with the team on the ground on that effort.”
UN to assist kidnapped girls’ families
Meanwhile, the UN has expressed its commitment to the release of the abducted girls and pledged assistance to their families.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa, Said Djinnit, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.
He said the assistance would include response to emergency needs both in food and non-food items and early recovery support through promotion of alternative livelihood .
He said, “The UN is committed to do its utmost within its capacity to assist the authorities of Nigeria in their efforts towards the release of the schoolgirls.
“As part of its assistance , the UN has initiated the preparation of an integrated support package that includes their release , in particular with psycho-social counselling and facilitation of their reintegration in families and communities.”
Djinnit also expressed concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the North-East, including the condition of displaced persons.
He therefore offered the support of the UN to the Federal Government and the National Emergency Management Agency in reinforcing their capacity especially through enhanced coordination.
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