Nigeria’s Military has affirmed that it has “decoded’ the “modus operandi” of various armed criminal groups across the country, and has warned that it will not hesitate to take them out if they don’t drop their arms and embrace peace.
The strong charge was given on Thursday at the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, Abuja, by Major General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations, while briefing newsmen on the activities of the military within the last two weeks towards sustaining peace.
While urging for cooperation from citizens, he said, “Our mission against terrorist, insurgents and perpetrators of insecurity in the country is not one that should be seen as the exclusive preserve of just the military alone. Experience reveals that, military means alone cannot neutralise terrorism and insurgency”.
“This underscores the need for our counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency war to remain a reflection of a whole of society’s commitment. The perpetrators of the insecurity are not ghost, they have families, relations and are from villages and communities in the country. Through a whole of society approach, we will suffocate any hope that these groups have of victory through senseless killings and dastardly acts.
“Indeed, while we all are from one locality or another, not everyone can be in the military. Recognising this, there are several ways society can show their commitment in support of the overall objective to defeat terrorism and insurgency in the country. Importantly, such commitment should reflect and align with the will of the people,” he added.
Buba avowed that the Nigeria Armed Forces remains “unperturbed by the evil machinations of these extremist groups”, and that their “nefarious tactics have been exposed for what it truly is, which is a mere ploy to self-enrichment through killings”.
Speaking on operations in the last one week, he disclosed that the “military neutralized 191 terrorists, arrested 184 terrorists, 22 perpetrators of oil theft, rescued 91 kidnapped hostages, while a total of 104 BH/ISWAP terrorists and their families surrendered to troops across theaters of Operation. Troops denied oil theft of an estimate sum of Three Hundred and Eighty Eight Million Four Hundred and Sixty Nine Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty Naira (N388,469,650.00)”.