… …New DMI, Provost Marshall, others appointed
Molly Kilete, Abuja
There has been a major shake-up in the Nigerian Army (NA) with the appointment of a new Director of Military Intelligence and an acting Provost Marshall. Major-General S.A. Adebayo is now the new Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), while Brigadier-General H. Ahmed is the acting Provost Marshal (Army).
The redeployment, Sunday Sun gathered, may not be unconnected with the allegation of negligence in the area of intelligence gathering and information management concerning the abduction of 110 students of Government Girls Science Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, by the Boko Haram terrorist group.
Others affected in the redeployment contained in a document of posting and appointment/amendment of NA officers signed by Major-General F. Yamaha, Military Secretary (Army), included Major-Generals H Garba, who is now Chief of Defence Logistics; K. I. Abdulkareem, Nigerian Army Resource Centre; A. A. Tarfa, former DMI, to Nigerian Army Corp of Artillery as Corps Commander; and A. M. Dikko, to Defence Headquarters.
Others were I. O. Rabiu, J. B. Olawunmi, corp commander, Nigerian Army Electrical and Mechanical Engineering; G. Oyefosobi, commander, NATRAC; KAY Isiyaku, A. T Haman, former Provost Marshall to the DHQ as Director Peace Keeping Operations; M. O. Uzoh, DHQ; A. M. Aliyu, to Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), and HTZ Vintinaba, to DHQ.
Also affected were Brigadier-Generals FOE Pearce, to NAWC; S. Mohammed, acting director DMPIA, and A. A. Aribiyi.
Sources told Sunday Sun that while the Army authorities may not be accepting the allegations by Amnesty International that it failed to act on advance warnings that a convoy of Boko Haram fighters was heading towards a town where the schoolgirls were abducted, it was not taking the warning contained in a memo dated February 8 from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) alerting of an impending attack by the terrorists lightly.
Besides, President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent warning to security chiefs to sit up or have themselves to blame as he could no longer tolerate any lapses in the security sector was also not taken lightly by the army authorities.
It was gathered that the army authorities, which felt very embarrassed over the abduction that has been described as disgraceful by the Federal Government, was digging deep to get to the root of the matter.
According to sources, in the coming days, more changes should be expected to pave way for a new course for the counter-terrorism war.