Takes Off with AK-47 Rifle and Hand Grenades.
Boko Haram arms supplier and detained Nigerian soldier, Abba Gesh, managed to escape from the Joint Investigation Centre (JIC) at Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The JIC has a history of holding numerous suspected and confirmed Boko Haram members arrested during the ongoing insurgency in Northern Nigeria.
Though the exact date of Gesh’s escape is unclear, he was last seen on November 26 in Malari, Borno State.
Gesh, a member of the Nigerian Army Special Operations Command (NASOC), was arrested earlier in the year for allegedly selling ammunition worth millions of Naira to Boko Haram terrorists in Geizua.
An internal military memo stated that he escaped with an AK-47 rifle and approximately four hand grenades, expressing concerns about his intentions to kidnap locals for ransom.
“Meanwhile, I have been directed to facilitate fmns/units, military intelligence, MPs to brief their tps at CP on the need to apprehend and arrest him by any means if seen loitering within AOR.”
The escape raises broader concerns about the involvement of military personnel in aiding and abetting terrorists, as highlighted by the former Chief of Defence Staff, Leo Irabor, in 2022.
In a letter to various operation commanders, Irabor condemned the rising cases of military personnel collaborating with terrorists, bandits, and other criminals.
The letter urged commanders to sensitize their officers about the serious implications of such collaborations, citing incidents like a soldier conspiring with a known terrorist informant in Bama, Borno.
This escape underscores the ongoing challenges in addressing internal security threats, emphasizing the need for robust measures to prevent collusion within the military ranks and maintain public safety.
