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The Nigerian Defence Headquarters, DHQ, on Thursday disclosed reasons for ignoring former Niger Delta militant, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo.

According to the DHQ, the army is avoiding situation of being accused of acting “undemocratically.”

This was contained in a statement by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, in Abuja.

Buba stated this, while responding to a recent report about Asari-Dokubo’s alleged threat to shoot down a military helicopter, reportedly hovering around his residence.

Addressing journalists, the DHQ spokesman described Asari-Dokubo’s threat as laughable. Buba, therefore, challenged him to confront soldiers on the battlefield if he was bold enough.

“Now, the comment by an individual that he can shoot down military helicopters is laughable. And I am about to laugh at that. We are in a democracy, and we are professionals. Of course, we cannot just, based on somebody’s comments, begin to take certain actions. They would accuse the military of being undemocratic.

“The military is not the only security force or department in the country. There are other security agencies that have a constitutional role to play in handling such issues.

“I tell you that he doesn’t have that capability. But I will allow the security forces responsible for such matters to take it up.

“As for us, come to the battlefield, and we’ll take you out. He should come to the battlefield and see whether we can react or not,” Buba said.

The DHQ spokesman explained that the military’s focus remained on combating terrorists across various theatres of operations.

“For us, the enemy we fight are the terrorists. Some may choose to call them different names in the different theatres of operations where they exist. In the North-West and North-East, some will say terrorists; some may prefer to call them bandits.

“I tell you, they are all terrorists, and that is what we see. Troops are making significant progress.

“As I mentioned earlier, we prioritize eliminating terrorist leadership. And we have been doing just that.

“In the last three quarters, we have taken out over 300 terrorist commanders, not to mention their foot soldiers.

“Our aim is to diminish their fighting capabilities and damage their military capabilities, which we have been successfully doing. As indicated in the brief you received, you can see how many weapons and ammunition we have recovered.”

Buba, however, announced that a terrorist kingpin in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was killed in an operation conducted during the week.

He noted that a total of 165 terrorists were killed, and 238 suspects were arrested.

“Our operations have destroyed a substantial part of the combat capacity of these terror groups and their leadership. For instance, one of the notorious terrorist commanders in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was eliminated from the battlefield during the week. Troops are, therefore, increasingly making significant strides across all theatres of operations.

“During the week under review, troops neutralized 165 terrorists, arrested 238 persons, and rescued 188 kidnapped victims,” he said.

The spokesman added that troops also arrested 35 suspected oil thieves in the South-South region. And also prevented the theft of an estimated sum of N688,125,150.00.

“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed two dugout pits, 58 boats, and 39 storage tanks. Other items recovered included 13 cooking ovens, 35 drums, one motorcycle, one tricycle, four speed boats, 13 vehicles, and 65 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 789,200 litres of stolen crude oil and 64,950 litres of illegally refined AGO,” he said.

Buba also noted that troops recovered 153 assorted weapons and 2,182 rounds of assorted ammunition.

The breakdown, according to him, includes 81 AK-47 rifles, 23 fabricated rifles, 27 Dane guns, and 13 pump-action guns. Others are five locally-made pistols, three revolver pistols, 30 AK-47 magazines, and one bayonet.

Also recovered are, “1,561 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 278 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition and 70 rounds of 50mm ammunition. 72 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 87 live cartridges, one Baofeng radio, 19 vehicles, 21 motorcycles, 45 mobile phones, and the sum of N64,100.00, among other items.”

 

source: PUNCH

 

 

 

 

 

 

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