Boko Haram insurgents have migrated to the Internet, says Buratai

Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, has blamed Boko Haram for the reports of his assets in Dubai.

The report generated controversy last week, but the government has since absolved the army chief of any wrongdoing.

On Monday, Mansur Dan-Ali, minister of defence, said Buratai declared the property at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

But speaking at a media briefing to flag-off the Nigerian army day celebration, the number one army officer described the report as a distraction to the war against insurgency.

“I am not supposed to comment on this because the federal government has already made a statement on that through the ministry of defence,” he said.

“But if you want my take on the issue, it is that we have already defeated the terrorists and the insurgents on the land, now they have migrated to the cyberspace, they have migrated to the Internet and other electronic media and so on.

“We want to assure them that these terrorists, the Boko Haram terrorists, who have migrated to the cyberspace, we will follow them to that cyberspace, and equally defeat them and clear their doubts.

“We are meeting all the terrorists in the cyberspace, we have defeated them, in the battle ground. We are developing our own cyber warriors and we will defeat them as we have done in the north-east.”

On those aggrieved over their retirement from service, he said: “With regards to the retirements, I would not have said anything because the minister has cleared the doubt. But I want to inform you that due process was followed.

“It is a good idea that some of them are going to court. Some of them have written and we will respond to them accordingly. I have directed the legal department to prepare our defence for those going to court. The Army Council in its wisdom has taken the right decision and we have to abide by it.”

Citing partisanship in the 2015 election, the army retired some senior officers earlier in the month.