carried out the rescue operation of the 344 boys kidnapped from their
school in Kankara, Katsina State, on Dec. 11.
It disclosed that while kinetic and non-kinetic approaches were used to
ensure all the boys were rescued unhurt, there was resistance from the
abductors who laid ambush against the troops.
Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, and
retired Maj.-Gen. Ahmed Jibrin, former Director, Military Intelligence,
gave the accounts on Saturday when they featured on a special edition of
the Nigeria Television Authority programme, “Good Morning Nigeria.”
Jibrin is currently the Special Adviser, Technical, to the Minister of
Defence, retired Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi.
Jibrin said following the abduction of the boys, the minister led a
delegation, including the Service Chiefs and National Security Adviser,
to Katsina and Kankara.
He said the minister gave the rules of engagement directing the troops
to ensure the abducted boys were rescued without casualties and within
the shortest time possible.
“Following the directive, the troop closed in on the abductors from four
different fronts, including the reinforcement that was made from other
divisions to ensure that the entire location was sealed off.
“The bandits were all under siege and they were fully aware of that,
feeling the impacts of the presence of the troops both from the air and
on the ground.
“When they approached the location where the boys were held, the troops
encountered some pockets of opposition which they cleared and moved
deeper into the forest.
“Although there was no casualty on the part of the boys, a lot of the
bandits were neutralised because, in the attempt by the military to move
forward, they laid an ambush in two places along the way.
“In fact, in the second place where they laid ambush, there was serious
resistance because they were hiding and occupied the road.
“They delayed the movement of the troop for some hours before they were
neutralised,’’ he said.
Jibrin said while the troops were on the field, negotiations were
ongoing at another level of the rescue efforts.
He said the troop could not completely demobilise the bandits because of
possible collateral damage as the abducted boys were used as human
shield.
On the claim by the Boko Haram terrorists that they were responsible for
the abduction, Jibrin said the group was only seeking cheap relevance.
“Shekau does not have the reach to carry out the abduction because a lot
is being done to stop them in the North-East.
“He is just taking the advantage of what happened to get publicity
locally and internationally, it is clear that the abduction was done by
bandits
“All their efforts when they were trying to reach out to the bandits,
which they did, were monitored,’’ he said.
On his part, Enenche said the rescue mission, like any other one, was a
delicate operation because if it was not carried out very
professionally, the tide could turn negatively.
“This is an operation where you do not rely on your capacity on
platforms and mechanical weapons but your ability to effectively carry
out the mission with unarmed combat.
“This means you have to silence your enemies and take your objective
away without firing a shot.
“It is very delicate in the sense that if you do not manage the
operation well, the children who are in between you and the enemies will
now become the victims.
“When they become the victims, the people outside there will attribute
it to failure on the part of your security forces,’’ he said.
He said the special troops deployed on the mission were on the spot and
could not have blinked their eyes for even one hour all through the days
of the mission
Enenche said the information provided locally were also very encouraging
while the support they got from all the stakeholders was of assistance.
“There was no conspiracy of silence. All that we needed were provided
even from the locals and before you know it we were able to locate the
place.
“All the kinetic and non-kinetic blockade were all effectively
monitored.
“This is to the extent that even when they were going to leave their
enclave to make bulk purchases from the market, we got the information,”
he said.
Enenche said a lot was done during the rescue mission to ensure that
there was no trigger happy incident as well as fright release from the
bandits against the schoolboys. (NAN)