We Need Information From Him To Tackle Terrorism, Banditry — Defence Agency Gives Lame Excuse For Declaring Retired Navy Commodore Olawunmi Wanted

The Defence Intelligence Agency has confirmed SaharaReporters’
report that it declared a former Nigerian Navy Commodore, Kunle
Olawunmi, wanted for exposing in an interview how the President
Muhammadu Buhari’s administration refused to probe high profile
politicians whom Boko Haram terrorists named as their sponsors.

The DIA said in a shallow statement it invited Olawunmi to its
headquarters in a ”text message to come over as a retired military
officer to shed more lights with the information that would assist
the AFN to further fight against terrorism, insurgency and
banditry.”

The intelligence agency, despite the volume of information on
the activities of the insurgents and bandits ravaging the country
said it was waiting for a retired military officer to assist it
fight the insurgency.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the DIA asked Olawunmi
to come to its headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday with his
international passport, which may be seized.

In a reaction on Saturday afternoon, a DIA official said,
“Please gentlemen of the press. There is a SaharaReporters’ online
news that the DIA has ordered for the arrest of Cdre Olawunmi rtd.
We are issuing a statement soon. You recall he said he his (sic)
privileged to lots of information during his media interview on
Channels. He was only invite (sic) through text message to come
over as a retired military officer to shed more lights with the
information that would assist the AFN to further fight against
terrorism, insurgency and banditry.

“Also recall that the CDS has just concluded his tour of the 6
Geo-Political Zones where he solicited for the support and
cooperation of retired military officers. Arrest of persons was not
part of it.”

The Defence Intelligence Agency is the primary military
intelligence agency of Nigeria.

“The agency has declared retired Navy Commodore Kunle Olawunmi
wanted for spilling the beans over Boko Haram sponsors in the
Buhari regime. They asked him to come with his international
passport on Tuesday to the DIA office in Abuja,” a top source had
said.

SaharaReporters had last Wednesday reported that Olawunmi spoke
when he featured on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast
programme.

He had condemned Tuesday’s attack by bloodthirsty bandits on the
Kaduna campus of Nigeria’s foremost military university, the
Nigerian Defence Academy, where two military officers were killed
and another kidnapped.

The Professor of Global Security Studies had said, “It is an
aberration; you don’t attack the Nigerian Defence Academy and get
away with it. In 2017, I carried out an investigation by the
Minister of Defence that wanted me to check what was going on with
the training and the security there (NDA). I remember I spent about
a week in the NDA with the commandant and the staff but something
struck me: every Friday, the gate of NDA is thrown open and
everybody has access to pray in the mosque.

“On Fridays, you are going to see the same thing happening
across all military formations in the country. If you go to Defence
Headquarters, I served at the Defence Headquarters as the Deputy
Director, Defence Administration, between 2015 and 2017, throughout
my two years at Defence Headquarters, I received visitors twice
because of the strict security architecture there but every Friday,
the gate of the Defence Headquarters is thrown wide open for
everybody to come in and observe Juma’at.

“That is the time the terrorists have the time to profile our
security environment. It has always been the case. I have served
the military intelligence for the past 35 years. Our problem is
religion and socio-cultural.”

Olawunmi had added that he was a member of the Intelligence
Brief at the Defence Headquarters during the leadership of the then
Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin (retd.).

The intelligence expert said he told the then CDS that the
centre of gravity of the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the
North-East and spreading to other parts of Nigeria was the
sponsor.

“I told General Olonisakin then that the centre of this problem
cannot be solved the same way we solved the problem of the Niger
Delta. The Niger Delta problem was solved during (Ex-President
Umaru) Yar’adua basically by me and I told them that we can’t use
that same template for Boko Haram.

“I told General Olonisakin to look at the centre of gravity of
the problem. I was made a member of the committee in 2016-2017
including former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru
that died.

“I told them that the centre of gravity of Boko Haram in Nigeria
is the sponsors of the programme. It was beyond us because the job
we needed to do was kinetic but we cannot resolve the issues of
sponsors of Boko Haram that were in Buhari’s government that we
know them. That was why we couldn’t pursue that aspect that could
have resolved the issue because we need to arrest people.

“Recently, 400 people were gathered as sponsors of Boko Haram,
why is it that the Buhari government has refused to try them? Why
can’t this government bring them to trial if not that they are
partisan and part of the charade that is going on?

“You remember this Boko Haram issue started in 2012 and I was in
the military intelligence at that time. We arrested those people.
My organisation conducted interrogation and they (suspects)
mentioned names. I can’t come on air and start mentioning names of
people that are presently in government that I know that the boys
that we arrested mentioned. Some of them are governors now, some of
them are in the Senate, some of them are in Aso Rock.

“Why should a government decide to cause this kind of
embarrassment and insecurity to the sense of what happened
yesterday (Tuesday at the NDA)?”

Olawunmi had also said that the Department of State Services had
tremendous information on terrorists but they could not do anything
except by the body language of the Commander-In-Chief.

The Defence Intelligence Agency has confirmed SaharaReporters’
report that it declared a former Nigerian Navy Commodore, Kunle
Olawunmi, wanted for exposing in an interview how the President
Muhammadu Buhari’s administration refused to probe high profile
politicians whom Boko Haram terrorists named as their sponsors.

The DIA said in a shallow statement it invited Olawunmi to its
headquarters in a ”text message to come over as a retired military
officer to shed more lights with the information that would assist
the AFN to further fight against terrorism, insurgency and
banditry.”

The intelligence agency, despite the volume of information on
the activities of the insurgents and bandits ravaging the country
said it was waiting for a retired military officer to assist it
fight the insurgency.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the DIA asked Olawunmi
to come to its headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday with his
international passport, which may be seized.

In a reaction on Saturday afternoon, a DIA official said,
“Please gentlemen of the press. There is a SaharaReporters’ online
news that the DIA has ordered for the arrest of Cdre Olawunmi rtd.
We are issuing a statement soon. You recall he said he his (sic)
privileged to lots of information during his media interview on
Channels. He was only invite (sic) through text message to come
over as a retired military officer to shed more lights with the
information that would assist the AFN to further fight against
terrorism, insurgency and banditry.

“Also recall that the CDS has just concluded his tour of the 6
Geo-Political Zones where he solicited for the support and
cooperation of retired military officers. Arrest of persons was not
part of it.”

The Defence Intelligence Agency is the primary military
intelligence agency of Nigeria.

“The agency has declared retired Navy Commodore Kunle Olawunmi
wanted for spilling the beans over Boko Haram sponsors in the
Buhari regime. They asked him to come with his international
passport on Tuesday to the DIA office in Abuja,” a top source had
said.

SaharaReporters had last Wednesday reported that Olawunmi spoke
when he featured on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast
programme.

He had condemned Tuesday’s attack by bloodthirsty bandits on the
Kaduna campus of Nigeria’s foremost military university, the
Nigerian Defence Academy, where two military officers were killed
and another kidnapped.

The Professor of Global Security Studies had said, “It is an
aberration; you don’t attack the Nigerian Defence Academy and get
away with it. In 2017, I carried out an investigation by the
Minister of Defence that wanted me to check what was going on with
the training and the security there (NDA). I remember I spent about
a week in the NDA with the commandant and the staff but something
struck me: every Friday, the gate of NDA is thrown open and
everybody has access to pray in the mosque.

“On Fridays, you are going to see the same thing happening
across all military formations in the country. If you go to Defence
Headquarters, I served at the Defence Headquarters as the Deputy
Director, Defence Administration, between 2015 and 2017, throughout
my two years at Defence Headquarters, I received visitors twice
because of the strict security architecture there but every Friday,
the gate of the Defence Headquarters is thrown wide open for
everybody to come in and observe Juma’at.

“That is the time the terrorists have the time to profile our
security environment. It has always been the case. I have served
the military intelligence for the past 35 years. Our problem is
religion and socio-cultural.”

Olawunmi had added that he was a member of the Intelligence
Brief at the Defence Headquarters during the leadership of the then
Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin (retd.).

The intelligence expert said he told the then CDS that the
centre of gravity of the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the
North-East and spreading to other parts of Nigeria was the
sponsor.

“I told General Olonisakin then that the centre of this problem
cannot be solved the same way we solved the problem of the Niger
Delta. The Niger Delta problem was solved during (Ex-President
Umaru) Yar’adua basically by me and I told them that we can’t use
that same template for Boko Haram.

“I told General Olonisakin to look at the centre of gravity of
the problem. I was made a member of the committee in 2016-2017
including former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru
that died.

“I told them that the centre of gravity of Boko Haram in Nigeria
is the sponsors of the programme. It was beyond us because the job
we needed to do was kinetic but we cannot resolve the issues of
sponsors of Boko Haram that were in Buhari’s government that we
know them. That was why we couldn’t pursue that aspect that could
have resolved the issue because we need to arrest people.

“Recently, 400 people were gathered as sponsors of Boko Haram,
why is it that the Buhari government has refused to try them? Why
can’t this government bring them to trial if not that they are
partisan and part of the charade that is going on?

“You remember this Boko Haram issue started in 2012 and I was in
the military intelligence at that time. We arrested those people.
My organisation conducted interrogation and they (suspects)
mentioned names. I can’t come on air and start mentioning names of
people that are presently in government that I know that the boys
that we arrested mentioned. Some of them are governors now, some of
them are in the Senate, some of them are in Aso Rock.

“Why should a government decide to cause this kind of
embarrassment and insecurity to the sense of what happened
yesterday (Tuesday at the NDA)?”

Olawunmi had also said that the Department of State Services had
tremendous information on terrorists but they could not do anything
except by the body language of the Commander-In-Chief.