The Minister said that the troops of Operation Hardin Kai in the North East had gallantly denied ISWAP and the Boko Haram Terrorists freedom of co-ordinated attacks as they continued to suffer huge casualties.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (Retired), has praised the military over the onslaught against criminal elements in the six geo-political zones of the country.
A statement issued on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, in Abuja by the Special Assistant to the Minister of Defence on Media and Publicity, Mr. Mohammad Abdulkadri, said Magashi made this known at the Joint World Press Conference held at the Radio House Abuja on Monday.
The press conference was done jointly with the ministers of Police Affairs, Interior and Information and Culture.
The Minister said that the troops of Operation Hardin Kai in the North East had gallantly denied ISWAP and the Boko Haram Terrorists freedom of co-ordinated attacks as they continued to suffer huge casualties, depletion and depression, especially in the last 4 weeks.
He said this was in compliance with the directive of the Commander-in- Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking further, he said that within the period under review, 66 suspected terrorists were neutralised, alongside the ISWAP commander, Madu Chaka and 20 others.
He added that 55 others were arrested, while 52 civilians regained their freedom from captivity.
Magashi further said that the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji in Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara in the North West zone had also given a good account of themselves by clearing the doubts of the bandits and kidnappers.
He assured Buhari and Nigerians of the total commitment of the military to the defence of the nation’s territorial integrity alongside other security forces.
The minister was quoted as outlining similar operational successes recorded in the North Central, South East, South South and South West.
He thanked the C-in-C for the strong backings that the Armed Forces of Nigeria continued to enjoy even in the current participation in the Peace Support Operation in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.
On his part, the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi said the Police Force had been repositioned and re-equipped.
Dingyadi added that the force was resolute to effectively change the narratives in all the states of the federation towards keeping the country safe and secured.
The Police Affaira minister enumerated the successes recorded in various parts of the country, including Borno State, with 248 weapons recovered.
Also, 181 suspects were arrested in Delta, and 40 in Niger, among several others in the last four weeks.
On his part, the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, warned criminal elements that they would be killed if they failed to keep off Correctional Centres across the country.
He also advised Nigerians not to obstruct the operations of the Federal Fire Service in responding to the outbreak of fire emergencies.
While expressing gratitude for the support by the military and sister agencies for their cooperation, he assured thay ”never again would jail break be repeated.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed said that while the country may not be there yet, the military had succeeded and still succeeded in crushing the criminal elements.
This, he said, was in accordance with the directive of Buhari to the Security Forces.
The minister said what could have overwhelmed and consumed other nations of the world was what Nigeria was going through in terms of huge security challenges.
Mohammed said, ”yet, the country remains standing and resolute to end terrorism, banditry and other forms of crimes.”
He appealed to Nigerians to see security as the business of everyone and thanked the media for carrying out their watchdog roles in nation building and national defence.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Leo Irabor, the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Isah Jere, his Federal Fire Service counterpart, Mr Abdulganiyu Jaji, as well as top Chief Executives of Agencies, Parastatals and Media, were in attendance.
The Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Defence, Dr Abubakar Kana, and that of the Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, were also in attendance.