Military authorities have arrested 16 more soldiers in
connection with the November 25 twin bombing of the Armed Forces Command and
Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State. Some high-ranking officers were among the
freshly arrested soldiers.
Also being
detained in connection with the terror attacks are four civilians, including
three residents of the Jaji cantonment and one outsider. A senior
non-commission officer in the barracks was among those arrested. A
highly-placed official in the army confirmed this to our reporter in Abuja on
Friday.
The source, who pleaded anonymity because he was not
authorised to speak on the matter said, “Apart from the first 10 arrests we
made, there is an additional 16. Investigations continue on the matter.” When
our correspondent contacted the Director of Defence Information, Col. Mohammed
Yerima, he said it was the army that could speak on it.
However, the Assistant Public Relations Officer of the
Infantry Corps and Centre, Major E.M. Adeniyi, said he was not aware of the
development.
Adeniyi, said, “What you are saying is still new to me. I
don’t know this one you are talking about.
“Today (Friday) we had the graduation of some of our men:
There were young officers’ corps, company commanders’ corps, commanding
officers corps, senior infantry non-commissioned officers’ corps, and the infantry
non-commissioned officers’ corp. In all, about 260 people graduated from the
tactics wing of the Nigerian Army School of infantry.
“We also had 10 participants from Central African
Republic.”
The Director of Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen Ahmed
Jibril, said on Thursday that the military was holding some people in
connection with the Jaji attacks but he was silent on the number of those in
custody.
He said while it was true that some people were in
custody, the number of those being held could only be made public when the
report of the board of inquiries set up by the army and the defence
headquarters had been submitted. Both panels are being coordinated by
Major-Gen. S.U Abdualkadir, who is the Head of Directorate Army Standard
Evaluation at the Nigerian Army Headquarters, Abuja.
The military high command removed the Commandant of the
AFCSC, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Kure, and the Commander of the Infantry Corps
and Centre, Jaji, Maj. Gen Mohammed Isah, to pave the way for unimpeded
investigation into the incident. Air Vice Marshal E.E Osim was appointed to
take over from Kure while Major Gen. K.C Osuji replaces Isah.
10 officers and soldiers were earlier arrested over the
twin bomb blasts at Jaji. A statement from the Director of Army Public
Relations, which put the initial death toll at 11, also stated that 30 people
were injured and taken to the hospital.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, had
attributed the successful bombing of the military establishment to laxity.
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