Osinbajo orders service chiefs to relocate to Maiduguri

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has directed Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff and Sadique Abubakar, chief of air staff, to relocate to Maiduguri, Borno state capital, with immediate effect.

This directive came after an emergency meeting with some service chiefs on Thursday.

The acting president said there was a need for them to be at the military command control centre in the hotbed of insurgency.

Apart from Buratai and Abubakar, those who attended the meeting were Mansur Dan-Ali, minister of defence; Gabriel Olonisakin, chief of defence staff and Ekwe Ite-Ibas, chief of naval staff.

Speaking with state house correspondents at the end of the meeting, Dan-Ali said: “We just finished a meeting with the acting president and the three service chiefs. We agreed that they should move back to the command centre again and see what are the things happening there.

“We have also agreed that we should get more surveillance devices, cameras that will be able to see distant attackers coming to the position of our troops.

“Also, the period of the raining season is a difficult moment for us. We cannot dominate the environment like what we do during the dry season but efforts are geared towards regaining our areas. All these ambushes that are happening would be stopped.”

Upon his assumption of office, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that the military command and control centre be moved from Abuja to Maiduguri.

Boko Haram has renewed attacks since Buratai ordered his men to capture Abubakar Shekau, leader of the sect, within 40 days.

On Tuesday, the sect killed soldiers, members of the civilian joint task force and oil experts in Magmueri local government area of Borno.