Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bolaji Akinyemi, has accused some individuals in the Nigerian military of sabotaging an attempt by the American government to rescue Chibok girls after allegedly leaking the plan to Boko Haram.
Mr Akinyemi disclosed this during an interview on Arise News on Tuesday while discussing the recent threats made by American leader Donald Trump to deploy troops in Nigeria to tackle terrorists allegedly killing Christians.
Mr Akinyemi alleged that a joint secret military operation between the American and Nigerian governments during former President Goodluck Jonathan administration to rescue the 276 Chibok girls was abruptly called off after Boko Haram members were forewarned of the impending action.
He noted that Mr Tinubu must clean up the military to successfully fight terrorism.
“The Americans had a big experience under Jonathan. When the Chibok girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram, the Americans came in quietly with the support of the Jonathan administration and in collaboration with the Nigerian troops,” Mr Akinyemi said.
According to the elder statesmen, upon identifying the camps where the schoolgirls were being held, a conclusion was reached to gas the sites, while everyone was asleep so that both American and Nigerian soldiers could storm the area and retrieve the hostages.
Mr Akinyemi narrated that on the day of the operation, the American military sent their reconnaissance aircraft to scout the area but only to discover that the Boko Haram militias were wearing gas masks, prompting the U.S. government to immediately abort the mission.
“They discovered the camps where the girls were being held and concluded they would throw gas into those camps while Boko Haram were sleeping and would go in with the Nigerian troops to take out the girls. When the Americans sent their reconnaissance aircraft over the camps, the Boko Haram militias were wearing masks, which meant someone within the Nigerian army had leaked to them what the plan was and the American pulled out,” the former minister said.
He advised Mr Tinubu not to be confrontational in his dealings with Mr Trump to address the situation.
He advised Mr Tinubu to show the American leader readiness to tackle the killings in Nigeria to avoid any foreign military intervention in the country.
Mr Akinyemi’s statements further affirmed the long-held belief by many Nigerians about the government’s complicity in Nigeria’s security challenges
