BY FOLUSHO ALADE
The Defense Media Operations Thursday during its weekly media briefing enumerated the successes recorded in the last one week in the fight against insurgency and banditry in the various theaters of Operation across the country.
Addressing the Press during the briefing, Coordinator of the DEFENCE MEDIA OPERATIONS, MAJ.GEN JOHN ENENCHE said since the commencement of OPERATION KATSINA the gallant troops through land and air offensives have successfully neutralized 392 bandits in the North West and North Central parts of the Country. He also praised the gallant officers and men of OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE and OPERATION ACCORD.
According to MAJ.GEN ENENCHE: “the various operations have progressed successfully in all our theatres of operations in the last one week.
“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”, he enumerated.
“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 Defense Staff ordered the commencement of Operation ACCORD from 1 June 2020”, he said.
Describing the mandate of OPERATION ACCORD, ENENCHE said OPERATION ACCORD; a joint operation of the Armed Forces and other security agencies is a subsidiary of other operations already existing in the NORTH WEST and the NORTH CENTRAL regions to tackle banditry.
In his words: “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”, he stated.
“In this regard, all identified hideouts and hibernations of the enemies will be decisively 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 outfits in their locations with this highly desirable information to enable the Nigerian Military and other security agencies achieve the set objective,” he explained.
The DMO Coordinator however used the opportunity to bring a message of congratulations from the Military High Command to the gallant officers and men of OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE, OPERATION KATSINA, OPERATION ACCORD and other theatres of Operation across troubled zones while also appreciating the general public for its cooperation.
“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”, he said.
“It equally appreciates the general public for providing credible information, that has 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”, MAJ GEN ENENCHE concluded.
