Alleged abortions: NDA wants commendation, not condemnation -Yusuf insists

attacks by insurgents, if this can happen, do you think such alleged crimes reported by Reuters will go unnoticed without any questioning before now?” he asked.

He noted that the Military is a regimented institution that pays particular attention to every detail in relating with people “when you throw away the rule of law, you have lost it, you cannot win the hearts and minds of the people you are protecting, they will also not trust you, and it will be difficult for you to operate in their territory”.

Expressing disappointment in the Reuters report, the army officer, said it is unimaginable for anyone to think that the military can kill rescued children for any reason, even as he pointed out that the military has celebrated the naming ceremony of children fathered by Boko Haram

According to him, “We have on our own provided rams and bought clothes for the celebration of naming ceremonies of children of Boko Haram born in our custody, and some of these children were named after us as a way of expressing excitement over our

Nigeria’s security challenges can end in two weeks, Expert claims

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Acounter terrorism and security expert, Ahmed Saleh has declared that with a political will, the seemingly perennial nation's security challenges can be put to an end within two weeks.

Saleh, who asserted this in Kaduna during an investiture of the 16th Branch Chairman of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, also noted that international conspiracy is also a factor fuels the lingering insecurity in the country.

He, however, said that the nation is blessed with abundant resources that if properly channeled would solve the insecurity challenges confronting the nation within a period of a fortnight.

Saleh, who is also a Forensic Scientist and Public Security Analyst said: " With the amount of intelligence we have, and resources at our disposal; both intelligence and the uniform security services, I can assure you that if there is a political will to solve the problem of goodwill.

“If we want to exterminate them, we would have done so by killing the pregnant women even before they gave birth, we won’t have gone through the headache of conducting the said abortions”.

Describing the allegations as painful and irrational, the Commandant said no military formation keeps women and children when they are rescued; they are immediately handed over to the camps, if you keep them, they become a threat and distraction to you.

On his part, the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary Borno State Ministry of Justice Barr. Garba Musa Chibok, who earlier appeared before the 7-man panel, said it is very unreasonable for anyone to fabricate stories that are baseless.

He challenged Justice Abdu Aboki (rtd) led panel to invite Reuters for questioning, saying Borno State as at 2013 (the period referred to in the Reuters report) was in turmoil, people were busy running for their lives and seeking hiding places from the insurgents while the military was bothered about neutralizing the terrorists.

On the issue of the massacre of children, the Solicitor General also debunked the allegation saying: “I am from Chibok and I am seriously affected by this problem, all the children rescued from the frontline are alive, I know them some of them are my relations, you can call insecurity bedeviling this country, two weeks is too much to end insecurity in the country. them to come here and talk to you.

" Sincerely, we have men and women from these security services that are patriotic and ready to lay down their lives in the service of their father's land, just to ensure that their fellow citizens can sleep with their two eyes closed confidently and conveniently."

While speaking, he further explained that conspiracy of silence and political conspiracy are also key players the insecurity in the country, adding that these conspiracies are aimed at making the country ungovernable.

He therefore urged the government to strengthen intelligence agencies in the country on their mandates of foreign and counterintelligence operations.

According to him, the Intelligence Agency is an equivalent of CIA in Nigeria, which he opined that the agency and other sister agencies should be properly utilised, especially in the area of intelligence gathering.

“None of them was killed; some of the girls released at that time came with one baby or more. Where did Reuters see those ones that they claim have been killed? Please invite them, let them come here and tell us”, he appealed.