In an interview from 20:30 with Channels Television, Solomon Dalung, a former minister, stated that he had a conversation with then Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, after the deadly clash involving Shiite Muslims of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and the military in Zaria, Kaduna State in 2015
Dalung said he visited Buratai’s office after the incident and asked why Buratai’s military convoy did not turn back when the Shiites blocked the road. He said he asked Buratai whether turning back would reduce his rank as a General or make him less of a soldier.
Dalung said Buratai told him the issue was not about him personally, but an institutional matter. He said Buratai explained that other Generals with him insisted they must pass through the road or they would quit the military, and so the situation was beyond his control and command.
In Dalung’s words: “Buratai told me ‘The issue was not me as Buratai, the issue was an institutional issue because my generals insisted that we must pass through that road or else they’ll drop their uniforms, So at that point it was beyond my control and command”