Nigerian Army Does Not Have Capacity To Defend Schools – Defence Spokesperson
Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to ensure the safety of all schools against further terrorism attack, Brigadier General John Agim, the Defence spokesperson, on Friday said that the Nigerian Army does not have the manpower to cover all the schools in the North-East.
The Defence spokesperson who played host to Channels Television Breakfast Programme, Sunrise Daily , disclosed this on Friday morning. According to him, “The military doesn’t have the manpower to deploy (troops) to all the schools. It is not possible. People don’t know the land mass that we have in the North East and the number of troops that are deployed in that place.
‘ The land mass is very large. It is very difficult. It is not possible”, he said.
Reacting to a statement credited to Amnesty international that the Nigerian Army fled and failed to protect Dapchi School Girls when they were attacked by Boko Haram terrorists, Agim said, “Where the military was deployed in Dapchi, they (the troops) were taken away.
‘They were deployed for other assignments. So, it is possible that the Boko Haram can operate in a place for a long time without the military presence.
“They were withdrawn out of Dapchi for another assignment on January 10 and this attack took place on February 19,” he said.
