Nigeria - Army Accuse General MD Isah Of Collaborating With Boko Haram To Bomb Jaji Barracks

The Nigerian Army says it suspects former Commander of the Infantry Corps and Centre Jaji, Major General MD Isah, as having hand in the last year’s bombing of facilities at the Command and Staff College Jaji by suspected Islamist terrorists. 

The Army therefore said it was still carrying out further investigations to ascertain the level of Gen. Isah’s complicity in the terror attack before taking decision on what to do with him.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, who made this disclosure during a press conference on Monday in Abuja also debunked allegations of favouritism, nepotism and ethnicity in the postings and promotion of senior officers of the service under his leadership.

A group of Army personnel, under the aegis of Group for the Salvation of the Nigerian Army, had petitioned the Presidency, the National Security Adviser and the National Assembly alleging ethnicity and favouritism in the promotions and postings in the Army under Ihejirika.

But the Army Chief said it was the vision of the Nigerian Army to place emphasis on the use of merit in rewarding hard-work and performance.

According to him, those who wrote a petition alleging ethnicity in the Army did not follow available official channels to address genuine grievances because they had a motive to destabilise the Army and to exploit that to cause trouble in the country.

The Army Chief said one of the military personnel who went to complain at the National Assembly and was asked to document his complaint left without doing so.

He said the allegations of ethnicity against the leadership of the Army started with the redeployment of Gen. Isah from the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps and Centre following the November bomb blast at the military formation.

According to him, the report of the Jaji bomb blast indicted the former Commander who according to him, did not take the steps expected of a senior officer of his status to prevent the bombing.

Ihejirika also stated that intelligence report of the impending bomb attack was received by the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Kaduna and the Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps and Centre, Jaji, before the twin blasts that killed 17 people and injured over 30.

He said while the GOC I Div took steps including calling off all his engagements, Isah allegedly ignored the warning and travelled to Asaba for the Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference.