By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
Former Senate Leader and Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has clarified that the Boko Haram terrorists, in their latest onslaught, attacked Buratai town in Borno State and not the former Chief of Army Staff, Lt- -General Tukur Buratai, as reported in some sections of the media.
Ndume clarified yesterday in a statement he had issued from Saudi Arabia and made available to journalists in Abuja.
The federal lawmaker stated that the statement attributed to him by a section of the media, which monitored his virtual interview on ‘Politics Today’, aired on Channels Television on Sunday evening, regarding the issue, was not accurate.
The Senator was quoted to have said that Buratai, the retired military chief, narrowly escaped death as his convoy was attacked last Friday in Borno State by the Boko Haram insurgents.
However, Ndume, in his statement, dismissed the media reports as misleading and misrepresentative of his words.
The former Senate Chief Whip said, “It was Buratai town in Borno state that was attacked, not the person of the erstwhile Chief of Army Staff.”
The former Chief of Army Staff is from Buratai town in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State.
Ndume said, “What I said on Channels Television while speaking on security was that even two days ago, Buratai (town) was attacked in front of the operations base in Borno.
“However, the soldiers stood up to them, but they (the attackers) burnt down some of our assets.
“Normally these days, they burnt assets like Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs), tanks, and heavy-duty machine guns that we have, and sometimes they steal some of this equipment and go with them.
“The situation is getting terrible in Borno; the problem is bad in all the six geopolitical zones, except in the South-South.
“Even in the South-South, we are grappling with economic sabotage like oil theft. Southwest is the only region that is relatively safe.
“I am surprised that the town Buratai could be misconstrued as the person of General Buratai (retd), who incidentally hails from the town.”
