The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) and other security agencies have identified several safe havens for terrorists, which the Military High Command confirmed this on Thursday. They have also vowed never to permit such anywhere on the territory of the nation.
Speaking at the bi-weekly Media briefing with Defence Correspondents on the activities of the Troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies in the various theatres of operations across the six geo-political zones, General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations, said that the armed forces “are constantly restrategizing and modifying its operations to overcome the changes in tactics of the extremist operating throughout the country”
He said it was obvious that some of the safe havens from which these insurgents and terrorists operate frequently extend across the borders with other nations, making it a regional issue. He continued by saying that despite this, the aim of ongoing operations is to guarantee that these safe havens are totally destroyed within the boundaries of the nation.
According to him, “among the central issues on the ground, in terms of setting security conditions and overcoming instability are the safe havens of some of these violent extremist groups that have existed for many years.
“These safe havens in effect provided a support base for insurgent activities.
“For instance, these safe havens provide the flow of funding, material, weapons, fighters, command and control that supports terrorism and insurgency confronting us. There are safe havens spread across various theatres ranging from the tumbuns in the Noth East to other locations such as national parks, game reserves and forests across the country.
“Recently, one of the safe havens in Aku Forest in Okigwe LGA of Imo State in the SE was invaded. Troops found unspeakable and unprintable activities going on in the camp. These extremist are cannibals feasting on fellow humans and slaughtering them for other devilish acts.
“Accordingly, the ongoing counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations are designed to ensure that uncertainty is replaced with certainty”.
The ongoing counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations are therefore created to ensure that uncertainty is replaced with certainty.
In the last week’s operations, 50 terrorists were neutralized, while 114 were captured, according to General Buba.
He continued, “The gallant Troops also arrested 19 oil theft offenders and freed 49 kidnapped hostages in the South South region, while the troops denied oil theft of the estimated sum of Nine Hundred and Sixty Eight Million One Hundred and Fifty Naira (N968,160,050.00) only.”.
Furthermore, the troops found 400 different types of ammunition and 65 different types of weapons, he said.
“The breakdown is as follows: 25 AK47 rifles, 4 locally made rifles, 4 pistols, 6 pump action guns, 12 dane guns, 3 AK47 rifles loaded with 50 rounds of 7 point 62mm special ammo, among others.
“54 dugout pits, 66 boats, 138 storage tanks, 253 cooking ovens, 2 pumping machines, 8 speedboats, 17 hoses, 18 drums, and 2 cylinders were among the items that troops in the Niger Delta area found and demolished. The police found 983,350 liters of stolen crude oil, 144,980 liters of AGO that had been improperly refined, and 71,650 liters of DPK.
But he gave the nation his word that the military would keep honing its techniques to protect citizens as much as possible and reestablish security throughout the land.
He asserted, “We are doing it right, and we keep urging people to speak up if they know something, so that we can take action. Together, we will prevail in the conflict.
