Army Speaks On Missing General

The Nigerian Army on Wednesday said that despite several attempts to distract it from continuing its search on the missing Major General Idris Alkali (Rtd), It would not leave any stone unturned, as directed by the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Texas Chukwu, said that no amount of sponsored protests by women or biased reportage by so-called freedom fighters antecedent would deter the Nigerian Army from getting to the root of the matter.

Read the statement below:

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MAJ GEN MI ALKALI (RTD)

1. The attention of this HQ has been drawn to attempts by individuals like Idris Ahmed of CUPS and his UK to denigrate the NA by insinuating that the NA was unconcerned on the missing Maj Gen IN Alkali and that the NA is complicit in his disappearance.
2. Consequently, the NA wishes to state as follows:
3. That Maj Gen IM Alkali (N/8353) retired from service on 7 Aug 18 after 35 years, one month and 3 days of meritorious service to his fatherland.
4. That Maj Gen IM Alkali is entitled to keep his NA driver and orderly which he still has at the time of his disappearance.
5. That as a retired senior military officer, Maj Gen IM Alkali has the freedom to travel anywhere without asking for permission from the NA. He is also likely to travel with or without his driver and/or his orderly.
   That the wife of the senior officer, Mrs Salamatu Alkali drew the attention of the NA authorities to a suspected case of the missing senior officer on 5 Sep 18. According to the wife, the retired senior NA officer left his home in Abuja for Bauchi on 3 Sep 18.
6. That the senior officer travelled without his driver and orderly but drove himself in a black Toyota Corolla.
7. That the wife informed that when she last spoke to him on his GSM number 09056890335, he claimed to have passed Jos and was on his way to Bauchi.
8. That on receipt of the report from his wife, the NA attached an intelligence officer to the family to act as a liaison officer. The officer was also to obtain as much details from the family to aid an investigation.
9. That the NA contacted the MTN and GLO networks to furnish her with the missing senior officer call records. Appropriate technical intelligence facilities were also put into use and the senior officer’s phone was tracked to somewhere in Du District, near Jos, Plateau State.
10. That the COAS has tasked the Comd, Op SAFE HAVEN as well as GOC, 3 Div to intensify the search for the missing retired senior officer in collaboration with the Fire Service, NEMA and other relevant agencies.
11. That in the course of the search for the missing senior retired military officer, sources informed that he may have been killed and his body and car dumped into a deep mining pit around Du District of Jos South Local Government Area.
12. That since receiving the report of the missing retired senior NA officer, the COAS has directed that no stone should be left unturned to locate and rescue the officer.
13. That despite several attempts to distract the NA from continuing the search either through the sponsorship of protest by women or through biased reportage by so-called freedom fighters antecedent, the NA has resolved to get to the root of the matter.
14. That so far, the suspected mining pit is being drained to enable troops to get to the bottom of the pond.
15. That the claims by the so-called Dr Idris Ahmed that the NA is unconcerned and also sponsored the disappearance of the retired senior officer is imbecilic, childish and completely out of sync with reality.
16. That we dare Dr Idris Ahmed to provide evidence to support his infantile claims and advise him to stop playing politics with the life of an individual.
17. That Dr Idris Ahmed should report back to his handlers and sponsors that he has failed in carrying out their directive to smear the image of the COAS, Lt Gen TY Buratai as well as the NA.
18. The public is hereby enjoined to disregard the publications and continue to give the military the needed support and cooperation. Together we shall bring total peace and security to our fatherland.
19. You are please requested to disseminate this information to the general public through your reputable medium.
20. Thank you for your kind cooperation.

TEXAS CHUKWU
Brigadier General
Director Army Public Relations