Ndume clarifies Buratai’s attack claim

Abdullateef Fowewe

The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has refuted ever claiming that the former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, narrowly escaped a Boko Haram attack.

Ndume was reacting to media reports suggesting he said Buratai was the target of an ambush in Borno state last Friday.

The reports followed his appearance on Channels Television, where he spoke about security challenges in the country.

However, Ndume described the reports as a misrepresentation of his remarks, pointing out that it was Buratai town in Biu local government area and not the person of General Buratai that was attacked.

He said, “I am surprised that the town Buratai could be misconstrued as the person of General Buratai, who incidentally hails from the town.

“What I said on Channels Television while speaking on security was that: ‘Even two days ago, Buratai (town) was attacked in front of the operations base in Borno. But the soldiers stood up to them. They burnt down some of our assets.

“‘Normally these days they burn assets like Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs), tanks, and heavy-duty machine guns. Sometimes they steal some of these equipment and go with them’.”

Ndume said the security situation in Borno and other regions remains deeply concerning.

“The situation is getting terrible in Borno. The situation is bad in all the six geo-political zones, except in the south-south.

”Even in the south-south, we are grappling with economic sabotage like oil theft. South-west is the only region that is relatively safe,” he added.

Recall that Buratai, the former army chief has since denied claims that he was attacked by suspected terrorists in Borno state.