Deji Elumoye in Abuja
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, yesterday gave an overview of the security situation in the North-east region, saying the Boko Haram insurgents are now fleeing the zone.
Ndume, who spoke to journalists in Abuja, also stated that the Nigerian soldiers have intensified their onslaught against the terrorists by taking the war to their operational bases.
He stressed that with the current activities of the Nigerian troops pushing the insurgents from the theatre of war, the government’s fight against terrorism will soon be accomplished.
According to him, the Nigerian troops have started chasing Boko Haram insurgents to their various operational bases in the North-east geopolitical zone.
He attributed the soldiers’ feat to the recent directive from the military authorities that soldiers should henceforth launch heavy attacks on Boko Haram enclaves in a renewed bid to end terrorism in Nigeria.
Ndume, a former Senate Leader, explained that the soldiers repelled an attack on Kalla near Dabua and chased the insurgents to some of their operational bases, which have been destroyed.
“On Saturday night, Boko Haram insurgents attacked Kalla, a village near Dabua. The Army Brigade there responded promptly. This time around, they did not only repel the insurgents, they also went after them.
He further stressed that “Up till Sunday afternoon, the military personnel were still chasing the insurgents .The Brigade Commander said they have chased them to their enclaves and recovered some arms, and other dangerous weapons while the soldiers have also killed many of the insurgents”.
Emphasising that the insurgency war will soon be over, the Senator said “The soldiers are still chasing the Boko Haram insurgents to their permanent bases where they are operating from and if the soldiers continue in that manner, insurgency will not only be defeated but would come to a complete end”.
Ndume, who is a member of the 18-man Senate Ad-hoc committee on Security, explained that what the Nigerian troops had succeeded in doing in the last one week was to uproot Boko Haram insurgents from the North East.
“What the soldiers have done is to remove the roots from a tree. I want to commend the Nigerian Army for responding quickly to the villagers’ distress call, and by extension, calls by Nigerians that they should intensify the fight against insurgency.
“Other army formations have been given the order not only to repel the insurgents but to take the fight to the operational base of the insurgents. That is what also happened in Askira Uba last week when the insurgents went there to attack the people. The armed forces took the fight to them and advance to where they can”, Ndume further said.
