•Want death penalty for corrupt public servants
•Call for further probe of plane crash killing army chief, 10 others
•Reject claim by Gen Ali-Keffi linking crash to terror attack

By Kingsley Omonobi

Some retired military generals have expressed dismay at why the Federal Government has refused to prosecute the sponsors of terrorists in the country that are known to the government.

They argued that the government’s refusal to do so is fueling terrorism and banditry and is the main reason why the military can not do much in the fight against insecurity.

The generals who spoke on condition of anonymity faulted the allegation by one of them, Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi, linking the plane crash that claimed the lives of 11 military personnel including former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, at Kaduna airport on May 22, 2021

According to one of the generals, “With over 60% poverty level, illiteracy and massive stealing of the commonwealth, the military can’t do much. How many sponsors caught by the government have been jailed or named or shamed? These facts are the oxygen for banditry and terrorism.

“I was a GOC, I saw this first hand. We neutralized many of them but more kept coming. Do you know why? There are millions recruited by their sponsors. “You can’t expect poverty-stricken people who see the billions of naira looted and not take to criminality. “Legislation or imposition of death sentence and life imprisonment for the elites guilty of corruption is a first step. “Good governance is imperative to provide an economic lifeline to millions of youths.

In many parts, this banditry is poverty-driven. “The elites are the drivers of banditry and terrorism. They get away stealing billions which is meant for socio/economic development. “The strategy is to de-oxygenate them by providing good governance.

There are so many ungoverned vast spaces in this country. “The billions voted for security operations are largely channelled into grandiose buildings as show off, rather than investing in up-to-date surveillance equipment and human intelligence. “You find professional military officers deployed to business ventures undertaken by the politicians. “That’s not our core function. It’s a major distraction and it has been so for many years”.

On the allegation by the former GOC 1 division, Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi linking the plane crash that claimed the lives of former army chief, Lt Gen Attahiru and others to terror attack, a retired Rear Admiral asked, “Why has this officer (Gen Ali Keffi) not come out with this his opinion since? Why doing this now? What is he trying to accomplish? “However, I believe that notwithstanding, the government should set up a committee for further investigations and also to unravel the cause of the air crash. “I believe the NAF and other agencies must have investigated this accident when it occurred, hence they should be made to re-submit their report without any hesitation”.

One General said: “The narrative of the former GOC, 1 Division is very interesting but highly speculative. As a layman in air operations, his account does not necessarily amount to fact. “Every air accident is investigated by an international specialized body. Only that body can make such conclusions. “Then, the NAF too has an in-house check mechanism. Adverse Weather conditions could occur spontaneously. “Aside that, being a former GOC, I know the itinerary of any top military commander, even lower than a service chief is very fluid largely because of the exigency of operational demands.

An Airforce General (AVM) on his part, while faulting Gen Ali-Keffi’s claims said, “The accusations lack merit and should not be accorded significance, despite the senior officer’s status as an elder statesman with over three decades of service in the Armed Forces of Nigeria. Contrary to initial reports attributing the crash to inclement weather, the retired General asserted that it was a result of a terror attack, claims that have been recognized as either unfounded or irrelevant. The claim that there was a sudden change of time for the late COAS trip to Kaduna and the change of aircraft, as well as a change of airport of landing being suspicious, should be disregarded. This is because various factors can contribute to changes in flight schedules, aircraft assignments, and airport of landing in air operations.