Military Set To Release Report On Baga Killings

The fact-finding panel set up by the chief of defence staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim , to Baga , Borno State, is set to release its report to the military authorities.
Members of the team, who visited the scenes oflast week’s clashes between the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) and the Boko Haram members, faulted both the casualtyfigure and level of destruction of property announced by the Borno State government .


The incident was greeted with public outburst when the mediareported that 185 peoplewere killed and 2,000 houses burnt by the troops. Before the visit ofthe CDS’ panel to Baga , the military had put the civilian casualty figure at25 Boko Haram membersand one soldier .
But the panel led by the chief of training and operations in the Defence Headquarters, Maj-Gen. Lawrence Ngubane , according to top military chiefs, discovered that the casualty figure announced by the state government was “exaggerated”.

The CDS had mandated the panel to proceed to Baga , primarily “to do anon-the-spot assessment’’and

to brief him and his team on its findings. According to an insider’saccount, the team was in Borno State for two daysand returned to Abuja.