President Muhammadu Buhari is against engaging mercenaries to tackle the security challenges facing the country because he believes the security forces will rise to the occasion to restore calm, the Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said this at a press conference in Abuja yesterday.
The Minister of Defence Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd), who also spoke at the event, said the military is winning the war against terrorism. Mohammed said the armed forces have demon- strated that they can crush the criminals terrorizing Nigeria, saying “we can tell you that the worst is over”.
He said: “Terrorists and bandits and co can run but cannot hide, and this has been demonstrated by the arrest of those who attacked a church in Owo.
“These criminals can run but cannot hide, as we have seen in the decimation of the cowards who ambushed the Brigade of Guards troops in Abuja. “When many called for the use of foreign mercenaries to tackle the challenges, especially terrorism and banditry, President Buhari never wavered in his belief in the ability of our gallant men and women in uniform to rise to the occasion, and rise to the occasion they did.”
The minister promised that the military and other security outfits would be able to contain the security challenges, adding that they would not relent until the terrorists have been crushed.
He said: “Whereas in conventional warfare, the parties can declare a truce or cessation of hostilities, upon reaching an agreement, it is not the same for the kind of unconventional warfare that our military has been fighting in recent years.” He however said the battle is not yet over.
Magashi said terrorism has far less value than the publicity that it generates. According to him, the military is conducting campaigns in the six geopolitical zones as well as participating in peace support operations in Guinea Bissau.
The minister said the successes recorded by the armed forces in the North East followed a series of reorganisation, restructuring and resourcing of Operation Hadin Kai, had undergone. Magashi stated that Operation Whirl Punch covering Kaduna and Niger states has been reorganised to also cover the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway. He added that a subsidiary operation of the Whirl Punch codenamed Operation Forest Sanity has been launched to flush out the terrorists from the forests that straddle Kaduna and Niger.
According to him, these efforts were geared towards flushing out criminal elements from the Kaduna- Abuja Expressway and its environs. He said: “It is pertinent to note that a huge volume of more than 30,000 vehicles ply the expressway on weekdays and about 50,000 vehicles during weekends, which highlights the socioeconomic importance of the road. “I am pleased to inform you that the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway has been secured through a combined effort of the armed forces, the police and other security agencies.
“In this regard, ground operations supported by air assets have resulted in several terrorists being neutralised including a notorious terrorist, Alhaji Shanono with 20 of his gang members with weapons and equipment destroyed while other suspected terrorists were arrested.” The minister said there are two military operations in the North Central to deal with the security threats.
He added that Operation Delta Safe in the South South and part of the South East has prevented crude oil theft worth more than $500 million. He added that for the first time, no single incidence of piracy was recorded in the Nigerian waters in one full year.
