…Vows they will be hunted down like Boko Haram
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, has declared that the terrorist group, Boko Haram, has been defeated by the military, vowing that terrorists will ever regret becoming members of the insurgent group.
Lt. Gen. Buratai asserted that what is currently playing out in the North East is the metamorphosis of Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) in collaboration with a group of international criminals to explore the loopholes created by the breakdown of law and order in some neighbouring countries to perpetrate criminality in the West Africa.
The army chief made the declaration while playing host to school children from several schools in Abuja.
He declared that just as Boko Haram was pursued out of the North East, the current band of international criminal gangs operating under the guise of ISWAP will also be chased and hunted down by the military.
Informing the school children on how he copes with the pressure of his office, Buratai answered thus: “When I was appointed the chief of army staff, I had the feeling that I will be the least controversial army chief.
I had the feeling I will have an excellent relationship with the media.
“This first thing I did was to call the then director of army public relations and I told him that henceforth, all our actions and activities must be reported and made known to the media.
“They had a right to know. It is the Nigerian Army. There should be no gaps about information in our operations in the North East or elsewhere.
Before then, we used to have so many reporters in the North East, including informants for the terrorists who plant stories and breaking news some of which went contrary to happenings, with a ploy to make troops unstable or demoralised.
“So we started reporting events and occurrences about the battle and terrorists attacks in the North East.
We were breaking the news ourselves, but this time, the real actions on the ground and not fabrications.
“We also commenced interaction with stakeholders for them to see and know the true happenings, which later opened their eyes to appreciate what we were going through and the heroic efforts of the troops.
We interacted with the NBA, human rights groups, the media, and others, and they now understood our job better.
“I also took personal steps to ensure troops fitness and agility, particularly on the battlefield by issuing orders for officers and soldiers to trim down”.
Furthermore, Buratai disclosed that the army had pressures from international organisations, including Amnesty International who were finding faults in anything done by the military.
I believe they have a hidden agenda which is best known to them by reporting falsehood against the military.
But, by and large we set up investigation teams and found out the allegations they were making were fabricated.
“We ensured rules of engagement were adhered to in all our operations and those who flouted them were dealt with according to the rules,” he added.
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