Sunday Aborisade, Abuja
ONE of the ambassadorial nominees, who retired as the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Usman (retd.), said on Thursday that his office had intelligence report that Boko Haram insurgents would kidnap Dapchi girls.
Over 200 schoolgirls were abducted by the terrorists in Dapchi, Yobe State, in February 2018.
Usman, who appeared for screening before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday as an ambassadorial nominee, said the military got wind of the development
He said, “There was an intelligence report on Dapchi before it occurred. We saw indicators building up but it was not managed properly.
“State governors have a role to play because if you are given intelligence, we expect troops to move in but this does not happen in the North-East because of bad roads and difficult terrains.
“There is the need to partner with state governments to deny the bandits the use of forests. We need to manage these forests.
“Unfortunately, these forests are lying fallow. We have partnerships with defence agencies in different countries and it is critical that we build these partnerships to prevent future attacks.