Nigerian army 'ignored school attack warning'
According to report - Nigerian army had early warnings of a Boko Haram attack on a Chibok girls but ignored, Military says Amnesty claim that it knew Boko Haram would attack Chibok school where girls were abducted is "unfounded".
Nigeria's army has rejected as "unfounded" statements by Amnesty International that it had early warnings of a Boko Haram attack on a Chibok girls' school last month, which led to the abduction of more than 200 pupils.
Amnesty said on Friday it was told that security forces were given four hours' notice of the April 14 attack, but failed to reinforce the town.
Two politicians from Borno state, which borders Chibok, separately told Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege that the army had at least two hours' notice.
In a statement on Saturday, the Nigerian army said: "It has to be categorically stated that the claims by Amnesty International ... that security forces had advance warning ... is unfounded."
The schoolgirls remain missing and the government's slow response to the abduction has led to protests around the country.
Makmid Kamara, a Nigeria researcher for Amnesty, said: "We received information and we spoke to a senior Nigerian military officer ... that they had received intelligence reports, even before local authorities and politicians got the information, that gunmen were on their way to the Chibok town."
Kamara told Al Jazeera that senior officials in Maiduguri and Dambua towns were alerted at about 7pm on April 14, and that information was given to senior military officers based in Dambua and Maiduguri.
"Later on, at 10pm on the same night of the 14th of April, local authorities, who Amnesty had spoken to, informed us, that they informed the local military command in Chibok town about the planned attack," Kamara said.
"When I spoke to one of the senior military officials, they informed me that they [had] informed their superiors, and requested for reinforcement. But the reinforcement did not come.
"Only 17 troops were there to face the attack and they were outgunned and outnumbered.
"They had to flee for their lives together with some other villagers. This is a shocking revelation."
Ndege, reporting from Abuja, said the Nigerian people would be "extremely shocked and extremely disappointed" to think the Nigerian military knew in advance an attack was going to take place and most would find it "inexcusable".
"The question is, why would the military deliberately choose to ignore this SOS?" said our correspondent.
"They are simply not prepared to give the details of any operation to find the girls. They say it might actually harm the girls."
Meanwhile, Michelle Obama, the wife of the US president, will use the president's weekly radio address in the US to talk about the abductions in Nigeria. She was recently featured on Twitter holding a card which read "bring back our girls".
According to report - Nigerian army had early warnings of a Boko Haram attack on a Chibok girls but ignored, Military says Amnesty claim that it knew Boko Haram would attack Chibok school where girls were abducted is "unfounded".
Nigeria's army has rejected as "unfounded" statements by Amnesty International that it had early warnings of a Boko Haram attack on a Chibok girls' school last month, which led to the abduction of more than 200 pupils.
Amnesty said on Friday it was told that security forces were given four hours' notice of the April 14 attack, but failed to reinforce the town.
Two politicians from Borno state, which borders Chibok, separately told Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege that the army had at least two hours' notice.
In a statement on Saturday, the Nigerian army said: "It has to be categorically stated that the claims by Amnesty International ... that security forces had advance warning ... is unfounded."
The schoolgirls remain missing and the government's slow response to the abduction has led to protests around the country.
Makmid Kamara, a Nigeria researcher for Amnesty, said: "We received information and we spoke to a senior Nigerian military officer ... that they had received intelligence reports, even before local authorities and politicians got the information, that gunmen were on their way to the Chibok town."
Kamara told Al Jazeera that senior officials in Maiduguri and Dambua towns were alerted at about 7pm on April 14, and that information was given to senior military officers based in Dambua and Maiduguri.
"Later on, at 10pm on the same night of the 14th of April, local authorities, who Amnesty had spoken to, informed us, that they informed the local military command in Chibok town about the planned attack," Kamara said.
"When I spoke to one of the senior military officials, they informed me that they [had] informed their superiors, and requested for reinforcement. But the reinforcement did not come.
"Only 17 troops were there to face the attack and they were outgunned and outnumbered.
"They had to flee for their lives together with some other villagers. This is a shocking revelation."
Ndege, reporting from Abuja, said the Nigerian people would be "extremely shocked and extremely disappointed" to think the Nigerian military knew in advance an attack was going to take place and most would find it "inexcusable".
"The question is, why would the military deliberately choose to ignore this SOS?" said our correspondent.
"They are simply not prepared to give the details of any operation to find the girls. They say it might actually harm the girls."
Meanwhile, Michelle Obama, the wife of the US president, will use the president's weekly radio address in the US to talk about the abductions in Nigeria. She was recently featured on Twitter holding a card which read "bring back our girls".
