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Security expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu has advised the military to develop more intelligence assets in the Northeast to enable it effectively combat Boko Haram insurgents which appeared to have informants that update them on planned military onslaught .
Ekhomu disclosed this while reacting to the ambush and killing of 47 Soldiers by the Boko Haram insurgents in Gogiri, Yobe State on March 22.
Ekhomu said that the ambush indicated that there was inadequate protectional intelligence and force protection during the tragic operation. He said “without intelligence, an army will be fighting with its eyes blind folded”.
Ekhomu who is the president of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON) commended the military on the killing of ISWAP Commander, Abu Usamah and urged the military leadership to maintain focus on promptly bringing the Boko Haram insurgency to an end.
According to him, “the rebuilding of the Northeast cannot commence until the hot war is over”. He urged the gallant forces to ignore propaganda narratives by some politicians that the zone are now in the post-conflict stage.
Ekhomu urged the military to expand its hearts and minds programme and to expand civil military cooperation as part of its renewal agenda, adding that the increased adventurism of Boko Haram /ISWAP in the operational theatre showed that the terrorists have advance information about troop movements and objectives.
He said that although COVID-19 has killed only two persons in Nigeria, it has drained all the oxygen from the environment,yet Boko Haram that terminated 47 precious military lives on March 22 is ignored as if it is a mere nuisance.
He urged the government to engage the citizenry in a focused manner so that together Boko Haram /ISWAP could be defeated and chased out of Nigeria.
Ekhomu also urged the military to be focused on wining the war against terror in the North East as the conflict has gone on for over a decade with no end in sight.
He pleaded with the government to provide more manpower, equipment and funding for the military to prosecute the war. He praised the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Nigeria’s Security challenges led by Senator Yahaya Abdullahi for informing the nation that we are at war.
