Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, on Wednesday, November 18, defended the soldiers; stating they are professional in the discharge of their duties.
Buratai made this disclosure when he received members of the House of Representatives committee on the army at the force’s headquarters in Abuja.
He said the troops will never operate outside the rules of engagement; while abiding by the country’s constitution towards ensuring the safety of citizens is guaranteed.
“Let me assure you and all Nigerians that the Nigerian Army is a professional army. We follow our rules of engagement. Nigerians should feel safe,” Buratai said.
“We abide by rules of engagement; and the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.”
The army chief spoke hours after a CNN report on the army “using live bullets” on #EndSARS protesters at Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020.
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Although the army has repeatedly denied the allegation; saying its operatives only fired blank bullets into the air, not at the protesters; CNN said its evidence shows otherwise.
Meanwhile, Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno state, on Tuesday, November 17, ordered the immediate rehabilitation of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok where Boko Haram had abducted over 200 students in 2014.
About 106 of the girls have been freed; while over 100 of them remain in captivity.
Zulum gave the directive after inspecting the school.
This mandate by Zulum comes five years after the Jonathan administration pledged to rebuild the school after the attack and a foundation stone was laid to construct another building by former Minister of Finance, Okonjo-Iweala.
“I hereby direct the ministry of education to deploy a team of experts to assess the entire school; and come up with a design and costing so that I can approve the immediate reconstruction and remodeling of this school.
“We will also ensure that the school is allocated adequate teachers; already I have given a directive for recruitment of more teachers both on permanent; and ad-hoc staffing that will include volunteer teachers,” Zulum said.
“Of course, before the allocation of teachers, the reconstruction will involve the provision of all components of learning materials including a functional laboratory for sciences. By the I return here next time, I want to see a completely different scene.”
Zulum also visited 83 families affected by Boko Haram attacks in Takulashi, a community in Chibok local government, and directed the release of N11 million as social protection for them.
Photo Credit: Getty
