By Ola Kay
The Democratic Front,TDF, has accused Daily Trust and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of pushing narratives capable of dampening the morale of troops engaged in the war against terrorism in the country.
It said in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Muhammad and the Secretary, Chief Wale Adedayo that it was enraged by the unprofessional publication by the newspaper and the remarks by the former Vice President on the recent bombardment of a key stronghold of the Boko Haram in the border town of Bindul-Jilli in Yobe State.
“More appalling and unacceptable was the unprofessional show of shame in the publication of the misleading story in which the Daily Trust also used 2014 pictures of a terror scene to buttress its disinformation on the air strike which the Air Force insisted was against Boko Haram terrorists in Bindul-Jilli.
“Even though we are aware that the management of Daily Trust Newspapers has issued an apology on the use of the 2014 images, it is still standing by its story of the death of civilians in the airstrikes on a market that the Borno state government had shut since 2021 for being a Boko Haram logistics hub.
“We note that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar hastened to adopt and drew conclusions from the misleading report of the Daily Trust Newspaper, without fact-checking the veracity or otherwise of the report, in a manner that depicted irresponsibility and a misguided approach to national issues.
“His desperation to malign and demonise the Tinubu administration through an unverified newspaper report could be understood within the context of the crisis of leadership and selfish ambition, currently rocking his party the African Democratic Congress (ADC),” TDF said.
The group threw its weight behind the submission of Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum as more authentic.
“We align solidly with the position of the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, who confirmed that the Bindul – Jilli market that was targeted by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) was closed five years ago after it was discovered that it had become a major logistic hub for Boko Haram terrorists.
“Gov. Zulum’s enlightened position on this matter, authoritatively gave credence to official statements from the Nigerian Air Force headquarters, which claims that an intelligence report confirmed that the Bandul-Jilli weekly market had long been converted into a terrorist transit and logistic centre by Boko Haram to facilitate terror attacks on Nigeria.
“It is regrettable that at a time the armed forces are engaged in an intense battle with evil- minded terrorists threatening our existence and national sovereignty, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will sit in his comfort zone to seek to manipulate public opinion in favor of the enemies of our nation, by drawing hasty conclusions from a spurious and deceptive newspaper report on the ongoing counter-terrorism campaigns that culminated in the air strike on Bindul-Jilli.
“We also find it preposterous and laughable that Atiku Abubakar will draw analogy from a recent pilot rescue mission by the American military in Iran, but failed, as a self-acclaimed statesman, to emulate the restraint displayed by former American leaders to publicly criticize the heinous killing of 160 school children in Minab, by the American military, at the beginning of the U S- Israel attack on Iran.
“We believe that if a similar scenario should happen in Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar will throw away the garb of statesmanship and be the first to call for global sanctions against Nigeria, in furtherance of his selfish political interest,” the statement added.
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