The Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has ordered men of the Nigerian Army to only travel mufti in order to avoid confrontations with
policemen.
This is coming days after the killing of three Police officers by soldiers of the 93 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Taraba State last
Tuesday,
The Intelligence Response Team of the Police, led by ASP Felix Adolije, had come under attack from soldiers along Ibi-Jalingo Road while
taking a kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Wadume, to the Command Headquarters in Jalingo.
The Nigerian Army had claimed that the soldiers fired at the IRT team because they failed to stop at three checkpoints; but this was
dismissed by the Police which demanded the whereabouts of the kidnap suspect who was allegedly set free by the soldiers.
In a letter dated August 9 and copied to Army formations nationwide, Buratai, titled, ‘Need for troops to be circumspect in dealing with
members of the Nigeria Police,” Buratai accused the Police of making inflammatory comments that could heat the polity.
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It read in part, “In the aftermath of the unfortunate incident involving troops of 93 bn, Takum and members of the Intelligence Response
Team of the NPF at Ibi LGA of Taraba State on August 6, 2019, inciting and inflammatory comments are being made by the NPF on the
regular and social media platforms.
“This is capable of inciting the rank and file of the NP to exhibit aggressive tendencies against NA personnel. Accordingly, all troops on IS
(Internal Security) duty as well as personnel travelling in and out of uniform are to be circumspect in their conduct to avoid escalation.”
“Consequently, formations and unit commanders are to educate troops to be cautious in their dealings with members of the NP in view of
this development. Troops travelling on pass are to endeavor to do so in mufti,” Buratai cautioned.
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