Buratai Lied, We Didn’t Kill 50 Soldiers, They Drowned Hunting Us – Avengers

The resurgent militant group, branding the name, Niger Delta Avengers has accused the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt.General Tukur Buratai, of venting falsehood to President Muhammadu Buhari on the death of 50 soldiers deployed to the creeks of the Niger Delta region.

The Chief of Army Staff had told the president that the group was responsible for the killing of soldiers in different locations in the region and vowed that the army would crush them.

Buratai had said: “They have been attacking our troop locations, killing our soldiers. We will not tolerate them. We will deal with them according to the law. We will look for them wherever they are, they are not agitating for anything, and they are just into crime.
‘’Communities should be patriotic enough to expose these criminals. They have nothing to fear, they should help fish out these criminals killing our soldiers, and we will not tolerate that.”

However, in a swift rebuttal, the militants gave account of how the soldiers perished, in a series of tweets on Tuesday, May 31, 2015.

Niger Delta Avengers ‏@NDAvengers

Nigeria Military also lied that NDA kill soldiers. we havnt engage in combat wth them bt if they want us to kill them let them come after us......

They said: ‘’The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General T. Y. Buratai, in his statement said NDA killed Nigeria soldiers, it is a big lie. Chief of Army Staff, we are not the ones killing your soldiers, stop lying.”
“The Chief of Army Staff deployed personnel to the creeks without amphibian training that led to the death of about 50 soldiers. If not for the help of local fishermen, the death rate would have been up to 100.
“He has been lying to his Commander in Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari that NDA are killing soldiers. This is our stand; we have not killed any soldier. If we do, we will claim responsibility because we take pride and responsibility in all we are doing. That is our code.
“Nigeria military also lied that NDA kill soldiers. We have not engaged in combat with them, but if they want us to kill them, let them come after us.”