.FG to Withdraw Troops from Some Parts of Nigeria 2020
By Hamilton Nwosa( Head, The New Diplomat Business Desk)
Despite an upsurge in Boko Haram activities in the North-East zone, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has maintained that President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is winning the war against insurgency. The Minister who said the government is winning the war against insecurity including the Boko-Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other security threats spoke in Lagos at a Press Conference to round up the year.
According to him the Boko-Haram insurgents have been ‘confined’ by the Nigerian troops while “banditry and kidnapping have been reduced to the barest minimum.” He explained: “Our gallant men and women in uniform stepped up the fight against terrorism in 2019, despite the fact that they are not just fighting the rump of Boko Haram but also the Islamic State’s West African Province (ISWAP). Yes, they occasionally attack soft targets from the fringe islands in Chad, where they have been confined by our troops, but they don’t hold any territory like they did before the advent of this administration, when they hoisted their flag in their Bama Caliphate, collected taxes, as well as removed and installed Emirs. They no longer have such capabilities.The successful attacks they carried out in Abuja and other cities are now a thing of the past. The terrorists’ recent attempt to attack soft targets in Damaturu, the Yobe State Capital, and Biu in Borno State were repelled by the military, with the terrorists suffering heavy casualties.”
Lai Mohammed’s declaration is coming just as the Military high command said today that with effect from the first quarter of 2020, the Nigerian Military will be withdrawing troops from some parts of the country. Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, who disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of a high-level security meeting explained that the withdrawal was to enable civil authorities to take over the duties of ensuring the security of lives and property in such places.
According to the Naval chief, the troops withdrawal process would be carried out only after careful and painstaking assessment of the situation on ground, stressing that the Military would soon take possession of some equipment that would enable it to also react more promptly to any situation of any security breach in the country.
He spoke to reporters after the Service Chiefs briefed President Buhari on the security situation in the country. The Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd), led the services chiefs to the meeting.The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, was absent but a senior officer of the Nigerian Army sat in his place. Those present include the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar. Others are the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu; and Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Yusuf Bichi, among others. Government officials also present were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha; and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno.
While in Lagos, Lai Mohammed urged Nigerians to pray for the Nigerian troops, saying “terrorism is not just a Nigerian problem.” He added: “It’s a global problem and it has global ramifications. The terrorists are as irrational as they are inhuman. They do not subscribe to any religion, despite their pretensions. That explains why they reportedly murdered 11 innocent men in Nigeria recently, in a dastardly and cold-blooded manner, just to avenge the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by US forces. The world must unite to fight this scourge of our time. Also, thanks to a multi-dimensional approach, the incessant farmers-herders clashes across the country, as well as banditry and kidnapping, have been reduced to the barest minimum.”
