PDP urges National Assembly to probe killing of Nigerian soldiers

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the National Assembly to commence investigation into circumstances surrounding the killing of over 100 Nigerian soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents.

The main opposition party said investigation into the killing of soldiers in Metele, Borno State, had become imperative given reports of compromises and alleged failure of the authorities to promptly act on a reported threat by insurgents to attack the base and other military locations in the area, a few days before the attack.

A statement on Monday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the probe has become expedient going by a disturbing video circulating in the public domain, showing soldiers, weeks before the attack, giving accounts of their neglect by the authorities, resulting in their vulnerability to insurgents.

The statement said, “This is particularly worrisome given apprehensions that President Muhammadu Buhari has been distracting the military by dragging our Service Chiefs to participate in his re-election campaign activities, instead of concentrating on their statutory duties.

“Moreover, the apparent insensitivity of the Buhari Presidency to the killing as well as alleged moves by the authorities to sweep the matter under the carpet has created despondency among the citizens.

“The PDP therefore urges the National Assembly to unravel the compromises leading to the killing of our soldiers and those behind them”

The PDP recalled that the police had initially claimed that the witness was killed in the course of arrest, but later claimed that he died in the course of investigation, only to again declare that he was discovered dead just as he was about to be taken to court.

“The PDP notes that the conflicting reports by the police only point towards an attempt to cover a case of extra-judicial killing, ostensibly with a view to muting vital information and derailing the course of justice in the matter which has since assumed a political dimension targeted at key opposition leaders.

“The PDP therefore calls for a public investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killing, which will require an open questioning of all those involved in the arrest and detention of the suspect”.