………. Britain To Assist Nigeria In The Fight Against Terror
Former Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (retd) has disclosed that the Nigerian military has reduced Boko Haram to a shadow of its former self and expressed optimism about its final destruction sooner.
Amosun who said this yesterday during the fly-out parade at Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Base, Abuja, held in his honour as he takes a bow out of the military after a 35 years of service, warned against complacency, saying terrorism is real and must be fought with utmost ruthlessness.
According to him, the December 2015 deadline given by President Muhammadu Buhari for ending of the Boko Haram threat is more a military operation.
He said: “Don’t forget there are two aspects of fighting terrorism; one aspect is the counter- to be led by the military – must conclude by December. The other aspect – the anti-, is a continuous process with Custom and other paramilitary agencies involved, with the police leading the operation.”
Speaking further, he said: “The fight against terrorism is going to receive higher boost. I want to assure you that the people we have left behind are part of the team, and of course we know that the freedom of movement and actions of the Boko Haram terrorists have been substantially curtailed. What is left now is mop-up exercise and to make sure some of our borders are completely closed and secured.”
“The threat of terrorism is very real, and should the terrorist succeed no part of the nation will be spared, hence, it is absolutely critical that we match the determination of terrorist with an even more ruthless determination of our own to overcome the threats of terrorism.”
According to him, Nigeria needs its gallant arm forces to rise to the challenge of defending the country against the scourge of terrorism and restoring the peace and security necessary for sustained development.
In a related development, the British Deputy Chief of Defence Staff on Military Strategy and Operations, Lieutenant General Gordon Messenger has re-affirmed the resolve of the British government to help Nigeria in the war against terrorism.
Messenger gave this assurance yesterday when he and other senior British military officers paid courtesy call on the Nigeria Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Major General Gabriel Olonisakin at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
Lt Gen Messenger stated that the essence of the visit of the senior British officials to Nigeria was to broaden the deep relationship and re-energise the bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and Britain.
He pointed out that his team came to Nigeria for deliberations towards identifying the ideal area of collaboration to be adopted in the fight against insurgency and the best way to make it work.
He stressed that the fight against terrorism is a multifaceted problem that demands strategy and careful exploration of grey areas in order to re-appraise the best support the British could offer.
In his remark, Olonisakin thanked the British officials for the visit and the determination of the Britain to assist Nigeria.
The CDS acknowledged the assistance the Nigerian Armed Forces had enjoyed from Britain, especially in term of training and retraining of personnel for capacity building to crush the Boko Haram.
A statement issued by the Acting Director of Defence Information, Col Rabe Abubakar, also quoted Olonisakin as saying that the Nigerian Armed Forces is doing everything within its power to liquidate Boko Haram and its cells.