The DHQ on Thursday also disclosed that the troops’ operations in the last week, resulted in the killing of no fewer than 50 terrorists and the arrest of 114 others.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Abuja, said it has declared war on native doctors that help terrorists, bandits and other criminals operate freely across the federation to accomplish their evil enterprise.
The DHQ on Thursday also disclosed that the troops’ operations in the last week, resulted in the killing of no fewer than 50 terrorists and the arrest of 114 others.
Major General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations, stated this in response to an inquiry about the destruction of a shrine in the South-East region that acted as a sanctuary for criminals and other agitators.
He stated that the military would go all out against them wherever they might be found throughout the federation, claiming that the native doctor phenomena was not limited to the South-East region.
Briefing the media on the operational activities of the Nigerian military and other security agencies in the past week, General Buba said, “The armed forces are constantly restrategising and modifying its operations to overcome the changes in tactics of the extremists operating across the country.
“Accordingly, the ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations are designed to ensure that uncertainty is replaced with certainty. 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 North-East to other locations such as national parks, game reserves and forests across the country. The military has identified several of these safe havens and operations are targeted towards ensuring that they are completely dismantled.”
He added one of the safe havens in Aku Forest in Okigwe LGA of Imo State in the South-East was invaded and troops found sinister activities going on in the camp.
“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 54 dugout pits, 66 boats, 138 storage tanks, 253 cooking ovens, two pumping machines, eight speedboats, 17 hoses, 18 drums, two cylinders and 53 illegal refining sites. It is clear that some of the safe havens from which these insurgents and terrorists operate often extend across the borders with other countries, thereby making it a regional issue. Nevertheless, the objective of ongoing operations is to ensure these safe havens are destroyed within the shores of the country,” he said.
The military, he concluded, would continue to fine-tune its operations to ensure maximum protection of citizens across the country.