Ex-Army Chief, Buratai, Safe, Celebrated Eid in Abuja, Declares General SaniUsman

•Insurgents attacked Buratai town, not him, Ndume clarifies

Sunday Aborisadeand Linus Alekein Abuja

Former Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General SaniKukashekaUsman, (Rtd), yesterday, said ex-Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General TukurYusufuBuratai, was safe and celebradEidfestivities in Abuja, in company of family, friends, and well-wishers.

Usman was responding to a trending report that Buratai was attacked by Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists in Borno State.

Usman restated that the former Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Benin was not attacked in any way, contrary to reports by some online media outlets.

The former spokesperson of the Nigerian Army said, in a statement, “In light of the recent mischievous and utterly false reports circulating on certain online platforms, I wish to categorically state that His Excellency Lieutenant General TukurYusufuBuratai (Rtd), Betara of Biu, GarkuwanKeffi, former Chief of Army Staff and former Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, was not attacked in any way, contrary to what has been falsely reported by some online media outlets.

“For the avoidance of doubt, he celebrated the Eid festivities peacefully in Abuja, in the company of family, friends, and well-wishers, and he has remained within the Federal Capital Territory since then.”

Usman stressed that the rumour was the product of the reckless imagination of purveyors of fake news – individuals whose sole aim was to malign him, spread fear, confusion, and misinformation.

He said fabricators of the false news were not only mischievous but also deeply irresponsible and must be condemned in the strongest terms.

Usman stated that no amount of falsehood or malicious propaganda could tarnish the image of a man, who had devoted his entire life to the service of this nation.

At the same time, former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, clarified that Boko Haram terrorists, in their latest onslaught, attacked Buratai town in Borno State and not the former Chief of Army Staff, as reported in some sections of the media.

Ndume made the clarification in a statement he issued from Saudi Arabia and made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday.

The federal lawmaker said the statement attributed to him by a section of the media, which monitored his virtual interview on “Politics Today”, aired on Channels Television on Sunday evening, was not accurate.

The senator was quoted to have said Buratai narrowly escaped death as his convoy was attacked last Friday in Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents.

However, Ndume, in the statement, dismissed the media reports as misleading and a misrepresentation of what he said.

The former senate  chief whip said,  “It was Buratai town in Borno State that was attacked, not the person of the erstwhile Chief of Army Staff.

“What I  said on Channels Television while speaking on security was that even two days ago, Buratai (town) was attacked in front of the operations base in Borno. However, the soldiers stood up to them, but they (the attackers), burnt down some of our assets.

“Normally these days they burnt assets like Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs), tanks, and heavy-duty machine guns that we have and sometimes they steal some of these equipment and go with them.

“The situation is getting terrible in Borno, the situation is bad in all the six geopolitical zones, except in the South-south. Even in the South-south, we are grappling with economic sabotage, like oil theft. South-west is the only region that is relatively safe.

“I am surprised that the town Buratai could be misconstrued as the person of General Buratai (retd.), who incidentally hails from the town.”