Pascal Arogorn Ibe
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru has reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army in crushing Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast.
Briefing journalists in Borno State on Thursday, the Army chief said his mission to the 7 Division, Maimalari Cantonment/ Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri was to visit the injured soldiers.
While noting that the troops remain committed to tackling other security challenges such as banditry and kidnapping among other crimes bedevilling some parts of the country, Attahiru said there is no way troops would always claim victory over their enemies, as sometimes the opposite is the direction.
“We are committed to the focus of the entire operations which is total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
“Troops are committed to ending the war and other security challenges such as banditry and kidnapping among other crimes bedevilling some parts of the country.”
The COAS also conveyed the goodwill messages from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, President Buhari is committed to providing them with the needed resources they would require to execute the fight against insurgency and other violent groups across Nigeria.
On his part, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major-General Farouq Yahaya, lauded the regular visit by the COAS which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
The Army chief’s visit to the troubled region comes four days after an officer and six others died in a counterinsurgency operation in Mainok, Borno State.
Spokesman of the Army, Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima, had on Monday explained that the security personnel were attacked by insurgents mounted on an unconfirmed number of gun trucks, and foot soldiers with the possible intent of establishing a phantom caliphate in Mainok town.
Five other soldiers who sustained various degrees of injuries have been evacuated to the military medical facility for treatment.
During a duel between the troops and the insurgents, the soldiers were said to have lured a number of the terrorists into a killing zone within their camp.
Thereafter, the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole scrambled Alpha jets and helicopter gunboats which took turns to decimate the trapped terrorists, leading to the killing of scores of Boko Haram terrorists.
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