Military on Full Offensive against Terrorists, Bandits

Military on Full Offensive against Terrorists, Bandits

• Delete Boko Haram/ISWAP Commanders
• Neutralize 329 Bandits in North West

Much to the expectation of Nigerians who are desirous of final obliteration of Boko Haram/ISWAP elements in the North East and bandits in North West/North Central axis, the Nigerian military are currently on full and total offensive against criminals through land and air, resulting to the extermination of Boko Haram/ISWAP commanders and successful neutralization of 392 bandits in the North Western part of the country.

Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, disclosed this to journalists in a media briefing on the operations of the military, Thursday. He said troops’ offensive moves led to the killing of terrorists’ commanders and the destruction of their logistics bases in the north east.

On the renewed activities of bandits operating in the north west and north central zones of the country, General Enenche said that Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, ordered the commencement of Operation ACCORD from 1 June 2020. He noted that the operation, among others, was “preemptively planned by the High Command of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to handle this situation” of fleeing bandits.

The Defence Spokesperson regretted that bandits who escaped from the Katsina operations resorted to “reprisal attacks on civilian targets,” but added the new anti-banditry operation in the Northwest and Northcentral regions of the country would take care of bandits who escaped from the operations in Katsina State and resorted to attacking civilians.

Enenche explained: “Operation ACCORD is a joint operation involving the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies. It is a concomitant operation by all the theatres of operations in the North West and North Central regions of the Country targeted at tackling banditry and other criminal activities.

“In this regard, all identified hideouts and hibernations of the enemies will be decively cleared through land and air combat actions. This can easily be achieved through provision of credible information that can translate to actionable intelligence. Thus, the general public is hereby requested to avail the various operational out fits in their locations with this highly desirable information, to enable the Nigerian Military and other security agencies achieve the set objective.”

The Defence Spokesperson said that in the war against Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the Northeast, the Land and Air components of Operation LAFIYA DOLE achieved “significant feats” including “deletion of key BHT/ISWAP commanders, destruction of their logistics bases and cutting off their supply routes.”

In addition, General Enenche said, the terrorists’ “camps have been in disarray as a result of the killing of some of their key commanders through airstrikes and artillery bombardments on their identified locations. This is additional to the aggressive mobile clearance operations and air interdictions. Thus, the terrorists now carry out attacks in depleted strength on soft targets which is being effectively countered by the gallant troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE.”

He added that “the Military High Command congratulates all the gallant troops of Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force and personnel of other security agencies involved in various operations across the country. It equally appreciates the general public for providing credible information, that have so far facilitated the successes of these operations.

“Furthermore, it enjoins the public to be proactive in providing timely information by reporting suspicious movements and strangers within their locality to troops stationed in their areas. This is very necessary for enhancement of operational activities. The Armed Forces of Nigeria assures that these offensives against the common enemies of this Nation will not cease until normalcy is restored to all the troubled regions of the Country.”

DETAILS OF THE PRESS BRIEFING

UPDATE ON ARMED FORCES OF NIGERIA OPERATIONS FROM 28  MAY TO 4 JUNE 2020

1. This morning, I will be briefing you on operations of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies across the Country, in line with our routine. Categorically, the various operations have progressed successfully in all our theatres of operations in the last one week.
2. In the North East, the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies have been on the offensive against the terrorists mainly through the Land and Air components of Operation LAFIYA DOLE. The significant feats achieved in this theatre include deletion of key BHT/ISWAP commanders, destruction of their logistics bases and cutting off their supply routes. Equally, their camps have been in disarray as a result of the killing of some of their key commanders through airstrikes and artillery bombardments on their identified locations. This is additional to the aggressive mobile clearance operations and air interdictions. Thus, the terrorists now carry out attacks in depleted strength on soft targets which is being effectively countered by the gallant troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE.
3. Following closely, in the North West and North Central parts of the Country, the gallant troops through land and air offensives successfully neutralized 392 bandits since the commencement of Operation KATSINA, which seriously degraded the bandits and other criminal elements in the two zones. Consequently, those bandits that escaped resorted to reprisal attacks on civilian targets. However, Operation ACCORD was preemptively planned by the High Command of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to handle this situation. In this regard, the Chief of Defence Staff ordered the commencement of Operation ACCORD from 1 June 2020.
4. Let me state here that, Operation ACCORD is a joint operation involving the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies. It is a concomitant operation by all the theatres of operations in the North West and North Central regions of the Country targeted at tackling banditry and other criminal activities. In this regard, all identified hideouts and hibernations of the enemies will be decively cleared through land and air combat actions. This can easily be achieved through provision of credible information that can translate to actionable intelligence. Thus, the general public is hereby requested to avail the various operational out fits in their locations with this highly desirable information, to enable the Nigerian Military and other security agencies achieve the set objective.
5. I am to also state that, the Military High Command congratulates all the gallant troops of Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force and personnel of other security agencies involved in various operations across the country. It equally appreciates the general public for providing credible information, that have so far facilitated the successes of these operations. Furthermore, it enjoins the public to be proactive in providing timely information by reporting suspicious movements and strangers within their locality to troops stationed in their areas. This is very necessary for enhancement of operational activities. The Armed Forces of Nigeria assures that these offensives against the common enemies of this Nation will not cease until normalcy is restored to all the troubled regions of the Country.

JOHN ENENCHE

Major General

Coordinator

Defence Media Operations

4 June 2020                                                                                      Defence Headquarters