Mutiny: Army removes GOC

The last may not have been heard of the crisis in the military operations in the northern part of the country, as the Presidency and military authorities are bent on getting to the root of the matter.
Already, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division Nigerian Army in Borno State, Major-General Abubakar Mohammed, has been removed. Brigadier-General  M.Y Ibrahim has replaced him in acting capacity.
Until his appointment, General Ibrahim was one of the commanders of ‘Operation Boyona’, whose mandate is to wipe out insurgency in the North-East.
The former GOC was flown into Abuja on Wednesday with some of his subordinates to explain some of the accusations levelled against him by troops under his command.
Presidency sources informed Daily Sun that government had been worried that the counter-insurgency operations in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states were not yielding the desired result despite the huge investment on equipment and other logistics and has been taking measures to ensure success. In less than one year since the 7 Division was created in Maiduguri, three GOCs have been appointed.
The top Presidency source, who does not want to be named, revealed that the worsening military operations in the region may have prompted President Goodluck Jonathan to appoint new service chiefs also.
Daily Sun gathered that government had suspected that there is leakage of information by some perceived Boko Haram sympathisers within the military, who do not want troops to kill their brothers. Also, the daily casualty of soldiers, either killed or injured in the North-East, was beginning to give both the military authorities and the Presidency sleepless nights.
Security sources said that while the issue of leakages of information was not uncommon during wars and special operations, it is the duty of the combatants to fish out the Fifth Columnists in their camps.
Top military sources revealed that most soldiers deployed in the North-East had been killed because troops’ movement were leaked. Only a few weeks ago, troops operating in the Adamawa axis were ambushed while on a rescue mission, resulting in the death of a lieutenant-colonel, who was set ablaze in the armoured tank he was driving along with his soldiers.
Top military officers told Daily Sun that those who are to ensure successful operations have, on several occasions, exposed soldiers to Boko Haram attacks and blame the officers leading operations.
According to the source, “this group of people are making it look as if  Boko Haram is more powerful than the Army. This is not and can never be true; we in the Army know this, but just because of what they get from Abuja, they keep sending false information to the authorities, who, in turn, remit huge funds that do not benefit the soldiers.”
Sources revealed that over six officers are said to be under house arrest and transferred from their various locations in the North-East to Abuja, where they are being interrogated.
Daily Sun gathered that what happened at the 7 Division in Maiduguri was a time-bomb waiting to explode, as soldiers may not be happy with the way they are being killed by insurgents, who they say are no match to their fighting spirit if not for the information leakage they have as an advantage over them.
The source stated that authorities in Abuja were not helping matters, as those with genuine information about the events in the North-East operations do not have access to the authorities, to tell their own story.
The Tuesday’s incident at the Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri was traced to the operation embarked upon by troops in the Sambisa Forest to invade a Boko Haram camp. The troops, which were said to have successfully penetrated the forest and headed for the camp, spent about three days waited for air cover.
When the Air Force team did not response promptly, it was gathered, the GOC ordered the troops to return to their base. It was on their way back that the soldiers were ambushed and in the process, lost their commander, a Lieutenant Colonel.
It was gathered that the soldiers felt betrayed over the attack and reasoned that somebody within must have hinted the terrorists about their movement.