In desperate cover-up, Nigerian Army claims “39” not 83 soldiers missing after Boko Haram attack

In a desperate cover-up of its handling of the 83 missing soldiers after a Boko Haram attack, two senior officers of the Nigerian Army have given uncoordinated statements on the attack.
While the man who officially speaks for the Nigerian Army claimed the army could not release true figures of the missing soldiers, a major general several hundred kilometres away said only “39” soldiers are missing.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how 83 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, went missing after a major attack by insurgents.
Several of the soldiers, who fled their station due to the superior firepower of the terrorists, were later feared dead from drowning in the River Yobe.
On Wednesday, at two different interactions with the media, Army spokesman Sani Usman, and Lucky Irabor, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole in the north-east, issued the different statements to reporters about the number of missing troops.
While Mr. Usman, a colonel, told an online news platform, Pulse Nigeria, that the Army won’t disclose the number of missing soldiers, Mr. Irabor told reporters in Maiduguri that 39 soldiers were missing.
In his interview, Mr. Usman told Pulse Nigeria that the Army issued a statement after the attack, but did not give the number of missing troops.
“We issued a statement of what happened. We did not mention the number of soldiers that were missing.

 Premium Times