The Defence Headquarters has confirmed that the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) invited Kunle Olawunmi, a former Nigerian Navy Commodore, to appear before it.
Mr Olawunmi, a top source quoted by Sahara Reporters said, was summoned to appear before the agency with his international passport for criticising the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in a Wednesday interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
The medium said the anonymous source told it that the travelling document of the intelligence chief will be seized if presented.
Olawunmi had alleged during the interview that Boko Haram sponsors are presently top government officials and Nigeria’s secret police, State Security Service (SSS) are aware.
Confirming the invitation to ICIR, the spokesman of Defence Headquarters, Maj.-Gen. Benjamin Sawyerr, said Mr Olawunmi was only summoned to appear and tender more information on what he knows about sponsors of the terror group.
“Nigerian Armed forces and its agencies could not arrest him, it’s just in a bid to get more information from him about what he said he knows,” Mr Sawyerr said. “It is the military police that carries out arrest, the DIA don’t carry out arrests.
“Somebody from the DIA who is in charge of counter terrorism only called to ask him to come over so we can hear from him, so that he could aid us in the fight against terrorism, but he switched off his phone after the call.
“It is not true that he was asked to bring his international passport to the DIA. If he was asked to bring his international passport, maybe it could be to corroborate the things he said, like his trip to the US.
“The military is like a family. If he has anything that could assist us to further fight insurgency and terrorism, we invited him to come and give us. We respect our senior officer, that is why the chief of army staff (COAS) is going around the country to have a conversation with them (retired military officers),” he added.
