Army Detains Soldiers On Kuje Prison Duty In Underground Facility

The Nigerian Army has allegedly detained troops as part of the ongoing investigation into the terrorist attack at the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Center. The detained officers were on duty on that tragic day and a military investigation panel is questioning them.

On July 5, terrorists burst into the Kuje jail in Abuja and released hundreds of prisoners, including 64 members of the Boko Haram group.

Like the majority of Nigerians, President Buhari was astounded by the scope and daring of the attack. He questioned: “How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?” He had reeled out question after question.

Mr. President therefore requested for “a comprehensive report” on the incident.

Military sources told LEADERSHIP Weekend that an officer and the soldiers have been held in an underground cell at the special military detention facility in Abuja.

However, when contacted, the assistant director, Army Public Relations, Guards Brigade, Captain Godfrey Abakpa, debunked the information. According to him, the soldiers were not arrested but invited as part of the investigation.

“There is no arrest. If the investigation has not been concluded, there cannot be an arrest, otherwise how do you get the facts?” he questioned

He said federal government had told the guards brigade and other security agencies to launch an investigation to unravel circumstances surrounding the incident.

“There is no arrest, there is an investigation ongoing and the essence of this is to get the details of what happened before, during and after the attack.

“If anyone is at the SIB, it is based on the ongoing investigation. It is expected to see the movement of those who are involved, that does not mean they have been arrested.” the assistant director, Army Public Relations said