My deputy saved me – Buratai opens up on Boko Haram ambush

 

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, on Monday, narrated how his deputy, Lt. General Lamidi Adeosun, the present Chief of Training and Operations, saved his life the first time he was ambushed in the country’s restive North-East.

Buratai spoke in Kuta, Osun state, during the commissioning of a bridge named after him constructed by the Nigeria Army Engineering Construct Regiment, Ede, Punch writes.

Commenting on the military operations in the North-East, Buratai said when he was appointed Chief of Army Staff, he met with Adeosun, an indigene of Asamu in Osun State, whom he said had commenced the process of rejigging the army.

He said, “When I had the first ambush, he was with me in the vehicle, by my side. (It happened on) the 18th of September, 2015, and I can see the courage he exhibited.

“And he was able to mobilise the troop to counter the bandits, the criminals, the terrorists out of the way. So, his elevation is not new to me. He deserves it.

“When I was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff, I met Lamidi Adeosun at the North-East, I met Adeosun as the commander of operations, there and he started the rejigging processes of the Nigeria Army and we commenced our upward and progressive movement towards the technical defeat of Boko Haram.”

Speaking further, Buratai said Army Engineering Corps that constructed the bridge remained an institution that has played an important role in the infrastructural and economic development of the country.

He also recalled roles played by the Army engineers after the civil war, describing the officers and men of the corps as professionals that would deliver quality at a very cheap cost.