(UPDATED) Obasanjo Confirms Attack, Son Flown To Abuja
After last night's unfortunate attack on the platoon of Former President Olusegun Obasanjo's son, Adeboye Obasanjo, by members of the deadly sect Boko Haram, OBJ has explained how the attack occurred.
This is the first time the ex president, who is said to be out of the country for Asian tour, is reacting to yesterday's sad news.
His son, Lieutenant-Colonel Adeboye Obasanjo, was wounded when he and his troops engaged the sect in the northeastern state of Adamawa.
One associate of the former president told BBC Hausa service today, on September 9 that he got in touch with the ex president and Obasanjo told him he had already been aware of the incident.
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Keffi continued and explained that the younger Obasanjo was an engineer who led his troops last night to battle but after getting injured, it's not fatal and he is getting better.
He also added that Obasanjo explained to him that Adeboye's team had left Mubi on their way to Michika, when their squad came under fire.
OBJ confirmed through his aide that his son was shot, but is now in a stable condition. Another confirmation came from a presidential aide, Doyin Okupe:
(UPDATE) News coming in from PM News states that Adeboye Obasanjo has been flown to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to receive more treatment.
A source close to the Army said that Lt. Col. Obasanjo and four other soldiers who received gun shot injuries were flown to Abuja today. They were previously treatmed at the Military Base Hospital in Maiduguri.
The source said that the five soldiers are all responding positively to treatment provided to them.
Obasanjo is said to have been shot in the thigh and right hand, according to PM News.
It is reported that Boko Haram had ambushed Lieutenant Agwu of the 234 Battalion, GOC of the 3rd Division, Major Gen. J.S. Zaruwa and Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, the Brigade Commander of the 23rd Army Brigade in Yola, as they moved towards Michika.
Boko Haram also seized the men's armoured tank after the attack which has forced the DHQ to move its sensitive equipments from Mobi to Yola.
Since yesterday's battle in Mubi, schools and offices have been shut and the town has been deserted.
One of OBJ's aides revealed that the ex-president is not so much worried about the health of his son, but of the men who lost their lives in the battle.
The aide said: “He got the information as other Nigerians received it and what we gathered was that a top official from the Defence Headquarters called him to inform him yesterday morning and you know he is in Singapore right now and I don’t know how he feels because I am not there with him.
“But from some of our colleagues over there who spoke with us here, they said he did not feel too bad about Adeboye’s fate but was more concerned about those that died from the bullets of the Boko Haram militants. An unconfirmed information at my disposal is that he has spoken with Adeboye himself but I can’t say if that is true or not. But before the end of the day maybe an official statement will be out,” the aide said.
One of Obasanjo's family members told PM News that they have been told not to speak on the matter until Obasanjo comes back to the country.
The family member, who is also a chief, said: “It is too bad, but he is doing his job and I pray that God will heal him and I also commiserate with the families of all those that have died in the hands of these Boko Haram people. I got the information around 7pm yesterday through one of our sons, whose name I don’t want to mention here. I called Balogun and his line was not going through and I later called one of our sisters who told me that he is not in town.
“I asked if he has been informed, she said the information is all over and he would have heard about it. She also told me that directives have been given to family members not to speak on the matter as we know that you pressmen will not leave us alone now."
Adeboye's father was elected from 1976 till 1979 as a military leader then later from 1999 till 2007 he served as a democratic leader of the most populous black nation in the world.
Obasanjo has been since 2009 actively finding a way to end the Boko Haram insurgency that has consumed the nation.
In May he tried to negotiate the release of 200+ girls kidnapped by the terrorists from a school in Chibok, Borno State.
Boko Haram has started recently to be on the offensive and taking over a number of towns in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states.
Army forces had attacked Madagali in Adamawa on Friday but they had to retreat to Mubi.
Michika citizens have reportedly overheard multiple military jets, but the Air Force could not bomb militants on the ground because the terrorists were hiding inside civilians' homes.
Source: Legit.ng
