Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
A Civil Advocacy group, Concerned Professionals’ Congress has paid tribute to the gallantry of the Nigerian Armed Forces in the fight against insurgency in the North-east region, even as it vowed to continue supporting the military in their war against the Boko Haram fundamentalists and other security challenges in the country.
It also called on other well-meaning Nigerians to support the military in all their operations in all parts of the country towards ensuring peace and security to lives and property of the citizenry.
Similarly, the group declared that the recent video released by the Boko Haram insurgents was an attempt to distract the attention and divert the pressure being mounted on them by the military.
The group at a press conference yesterday in Bauchi shortly after holding an Extra-ordinary Regional meeting stated that the North-east has been witnessing degradation and human casualties over the years due to the activities of Boko Haram insurgents.
During the briefing jointly addressed by the group’s Chief Media Strategist, Mr. Emeka Nwapa and its Regional Rapporteur, Mallam Kasim Baba Al-Kasim noted that the hardship being experienced by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is a cause for concern.
It however noted that the situation is slightly improving due to the achievements being recorded by the Nigerian troops against the insurgents and the various other measures being put in place by President Muhammadu Buhari to ease the sufferings of the people affected.
“That has resulted in the steady decimation of the Boko Haram terrorists to the point that they now lack the capacity to either directly confront our troops or hold territories at will or carry out suicide bombings on soft targets.
“Particularly noteworthy in the course of the entire operations is the excellent command focus and the direction of our Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari, who has left no one in doubt about his resolve and commitment to completely decimate the Boko Haram and restore peace, stability and normalcy in the North-east,” the group added.
The group noted that with the liberation of territories held by the terrorists in the past, over 30,000 hostages have been rescued while over 10,000 Boko Haram members have surrendered to the Nigerian Army in recent times. “We have visited some of the liberated territories and can confirm to you that this is the beginning of the end of this war that has desolated our lands,” it added.
On the recent video released by the Boko Haram insurgents, the group said it was an attempt by the insurgents to distract attention and divert the pressure being mounted on them by the military.
“The video has many contradictions. One, they said nobody knows the girls’ whereabouts. Then how did the people you said don’t know your location are the same people you are accusing of bombarding the girls? Second, looking at the clip, if indeed there was bombing by the concocted flying airplanes, how did the people who stage-managed the film escape to shoot the video?
“Besides, we have been made to understand that necessary precautionary measures guide and dictate the military operations in the North-east. Precision airstrikes are the hallmark of the operations in line with global best practices and cutting edge technological military combat,” it added.
The group threw its weight behind the Federal Government decision to swap the detained Boko Haram members for the girls who have been in captivity for over two years as emotions in the country were running over their release.
It said Nigerians should not waste their time over the phantom video, pointing out that security agents will not ordinarily ignore the video without subjecting it to forensic analysis for safety of Nigerians.
