CDS: Troops received false information from locals before Benue killings

Christopher Musa, chief of defence staff (CDS), says troops of the Nigerian Army received false information before the recent killings in Benue.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, Musa said on the day of the attack, troops in Yelewata community were told that another community was under siege.

The CDS added that when the troops moved to the other community, the killers swarmed Yelewata.

The defence chief blamed some community members for “providing information on the movement of troops” to the aggressors.

“Because of the insider information, the actual day that it (attack) happened, the troops were there,” he said.

“There was a fake attack in the other village when the troops moved in; that is when they came to attack the other one. That is what happened.

“There are people telling them about the movements of the troops. I can tell you that when troops are moving on an operation, there are people who are monitoring the soldiers.

“Telling them about the number of vehicles and soldiers. People are giving them that information.

“The places they burnt were targeted. They were specific areas. Those areas where the IDPs were staying. The question is, those guys that did it (attack), how did they know that this is where the IDPs were staying?

“Within the communities, there are people giving information about what is happening in the areas.”

Musa also said residents of the communities harboured the assailants while handing them food and “women”.

On June 14, gunmen attacked Yelewata and Daudu communities in Guma LGA of Benue, with over 200 people left dead afterwards.

The massacre sparked national outrage, with President Bola Tinubu making an emergency trip to Benue on June 18.