The Army has arrested an officer in the rank of a Captain and 33 soldiers who were on guard duty at Kuje Prisons, over last Tuesday’s terrorists’ attack on the facilities.
The soldiers have been moved to the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), at the Shehu Musa Yaradua Barracks, Abuja, where they are undergoing investigation and interrogation.
It was gathered that the soldiers were arrested for negligence and cowardice; for failing to foil the attack or even preventing the terrorists from releasing prisoners from the facility.
A top military source told Daily Sun that those arrested were being investigated to unravel the mystery behind the attack.
The source described the attack on Kuje prison, where soldiers were deployed to man, as a national embarrassment, and said the military was not taking the incident lightly.
“When such things happen, we don’t let them lie low; there must be thorough investigation.
The military is self-regulating and all the instrument to self-regulate are there, so we must do the needful.”
It was learnt that from investigations, the soldiers did not fire a single shot to repel the attackers, as they were found to be in possession of the complete ammunition assigned to them before they were deployed to the facility at the time of their arrest.
A top military source said the revelation that the soldiers still had their complete ammunition intact was another puzzle the army authorities and those investigating the matter were trying to figure out.
A top security source, who described the actions of the soldiers as a serious security breach, said, “there can’t be any justification for the actions of the soldiers for not reacting because, in the first place, their deployment to the facility was to prevent any attack or to repel any attack.
When contacted, the Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said: “I have not been given any brief on that; I have not received many brief on that.
I am just returning from Kaduna, so I can’t speak on what I have not been briefed.”