By Joseph Erunke

ABUJA—CHIBOK community in Borno State has accused the Army Commanding Officer, CO, posted to the area of dividing inhabitants along religious lines and maltreating the youths, among other allegations.

The residents also said the CO is high-handed and never welcomed any suggestion from the community.

In a statement issued on behalf of the community by their spokesman, Manasseh Allen, the Chibok community said the new CO was “unfriendly, unprofessional and brutish.”

Allen said: “Having spent about two years in Chibok, the CO was sent on a course and the people felt great relief from his unfriendly, unprofessional and brutish style of interacting with locals in Chibok.

“Accused of divisive tendencies along religious lines, he once threatened to shoot us when IG Wala, Olatunji Lanre-Baruwa, Bukky Shonibare and I were on a humanitarian outing to Chibok.

“He kept us standing for hours. I begged him for 30 minutes to allow me see my sick dad and for the team to give relief materials to parents of the abducted school girls in Chibok.

“While on course, the people thought the end of the operational style of such an officer had come. The community, through its Chairman made several reports to the District Head on the matter in writing aside several reports to the Chief of Army Staff.

“Shockingly, the same Commanding Officer has now been re-posted to Chibok and moved to mount Kautikari, one of the largest villages in Chibok near the Boko Haram terrorists crossing point.”

Allen claimed the people of Chibok had cooperated fully with the military to bring lasting peace to the area, but the CO’s posting to the area would reverse the gains made in recent times.

“We plead for immediate return of the former Commanding Officer to Chibok, who worked day and night to secure Chibok and its environs with serious coordination between his team and youth vigilantes.”