Follow Us on Google
From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, has revealed that the support and participation of community members in terrorist attacks in Borno and Yobe states are prolonging the violence in the area.
He stated this in an interview with newsmen shortly after a four-hour meeting with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. WWaidi Shaibu, the Theatre Commander North East Operation HADIN KAI, Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, alongside senior military officers in Maiduguri yesterday.
Oluyede said credible intelligence at his disposal revealed that most of the people perpetrating the killings and destruction in the last 15 years of the Boko Haram crises were allegedly from the affected states.
Oluyede insisted that some members of the communities in both states chose to be complicit by sabotaging the ongoing military operations in the region.
The CDS and others were in Borno under the President Bola Tinubu’s directive that they must relocate to Maiduguri, Borno State, to nip in the bud the renewed and rising cases of Boko Haram and ISWAP attacks and bombings.
Other News
“We are here to review our strategies in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in the North East.
“As you are aware, in the last month, there were attacks launched by terrorists which is their usual tactic during the holy month of Ramadan.
“But these challenges are not new as we are on top of the situation. Unfortunately, most of the people perpetrating these heinous acts are from these states. They are our brothers, sisters and cousins. We know them.
“Let me give you an example, when Kukawa was attacked, while we were conducting a cordoned search afterwards, we discovered that two of the wounded terrorists were inside that village, that means the people were accomplices.
“Therefore, the people in these two states, Borno and Yobe must take ownership in this war.”
On the new tactics used by terrorists to launch attacks using drones and other technological weapons, Oluyede insisted that the military was aware and currently on top of the situation, as the Nigerian military is now adopting German Drones.
