We can’t stop Boko Haram from attacking schools —Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army has said that it lacks the manpower to deploy troops to all schools in the Northeast in order to protect them from Boko Haram attacks.

Brigadier General John Agim, the Defence spokesperson, stated this on Friday, adding that “it is not possible” considering the land mass in the North East to do that”.

This came just as President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered security officials to ensure the safety of all schools against further terrorism attack.

But Agim, who was on Channels Television Breakfast Programme, Sunrise Daily, did not see how that could be possible.

He said, “The military doesn’t have the manpower to deploy (troops) to all the schools. It is not possible. People don’t know the land mass that we have in the North East and the number of troops that are deployed in that place. The land mass is very large. It is very difficult. It is not possible.”

Agim during the programme faulted claims made by Amnesty international, that the Nigerian Army fled and could not defend Dapchi School Girls when they were attacked by Boko Haram insurgents.

According to the Army spokesman, the statement was not true because the troops in Dapchi were already taken away and deployed for other assignments when the terrorists attacked.

READ ALSO : Buhari receives Dapchi girls, promises amnesty to Boko Haram, warns Politicians

“They (troops) were withdrawn out of Dapchi for another assignment on January 10 and this attack took place on February 19.”

He lamented that because the soldiers in the Northeast cannot be in all the schools, it was “possible that the Boko Haram can operate in a place for a long time without the military presence.”

 

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