From now, you must be offensive to insurgents —Buhari orders military

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday , said he has directed the nation ’ s Armed Forces to take the anti -terrorism fight to the insurgents.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity , Garba Shehu, the President disclosed this in a message he sent through his Chief of Staff , Ibrahim Gambari , to the Borno State governor , Babagana Zulum; the Shehu of Borno and the Zabarmari community where 43 rice farmers were killed by insurgents on Saturday.

The statement was titled, ‘ High powered government delegation visits Maiduguri , President Buhari vows to end terrorism’ .

According to Shehu , the President , in his message , described the massacre as “ senseless , barbaric and gruesome murder. ”

He further quoted Buhari as giving assurances of his continuous commitment to fighting insurgency and all forms of insecurity in Borno State and all over Nigeria .

He said Buhari committed himself to making more resources available to the military to prosecute the war , adding that he will “ work closely with neighbouring countries on bilateral and multilateral levels to ensure that there is no hiding place for the terrorists . ”

According to the statement , the President said , “ Nothing is more important than ensuring the security of lives and property of the people . Everything is secondary when security is at a stake.

“ As we mourn the loss of our sons in Zabarmari , the Armed Forces have been given the marching order to take the fight to the insurgents, not on a one- off , but on a continuous basis until we root out the terrorists . ”

The President also commended Zulum for his leadership in running the affairs of the state.

The presidential aide said apart from the message from the President , the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, spoke for the government team to the state.