*2020 we want to see all accomplices, religious extremists arrested, prosecuted – Respondents
“We have read reports in Muslim News and The DEFENDER about how another such extremists are building up in some universities particularly in South West and another in the North Central (names withheld) where even staff and lecturers of the university have been identified as leaders brainwashing, radicalising, negatively indoctrinating and instigating fresh students against their parents and thereby forcing the girls among them into marriage by deceit claiming they are helping them to enter Aljannah. Our military intelligence, the DSS and the police should go after them in any university they are said to be.”
Claims from several quarters are further confirmed about foreign interests behind the seeming unabated insurgency in North East zone of Nigeria, just after the recovery of NATO-made amonition from terrorists killed by Army troops during the week.
The latest coming in the declaration, on Friday, by Defence Headquarters (DHQ) that an international non-governmental organization based in Nigeria, Amnesty International, is supporting activities of the terrorists who have killed thousands of people in the zone.
It will be recalled how a frontline Nigerian newspaper’s head office was invaded in Abuja last year for revealing military tactics planned to end Boko Haram insurgency in the country.
In making its declaration on Friday, the Defence Headquarters said it had taken cognizance of yet another falsified report by Amnesty International (AI) in a campaign of calumny targeting the Nigerian Military and deliberately supporting the callous acts of terrorism perpetuated by Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) and Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP).
In a statement by the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, it was said that this inglorious campaign is contained in a recent report alleging employment of unlawful tactics of razing down villages and unlawful detention of locals by troops.
“This is in line with the AI usual mannerism and tenacious efforts aimed at disparaging the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN).
“The Defence Headquarters wishes to state unambiguously that the allegations being touted by AI is nothing but a betrayal of its lack of in-depth knowledge of the goings-on in the North East (NE) theatre of operation.
”It is expedient to state that troops of Operation Lafiya Dole who are conducting Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Operations in the NE do not employ arson as an operational tactic.
“It is a well-known fact, going by the modus operandi of BHTs, that they, have more often than not engaged in the atrocious acts of looting and burning of villages, as well as destroying infrastructures.
“It, therefore, beats one’s imagination that AI is attributing these atrocities to AFN troops who are legitimately defending the country guided by extant rules of engagement and operational codes of conduct.
“AI must understand the fact that Nigeria is at war against terrorism in the NE and that the troops have a constitutional mandate to protect lives and property, even if it means conducting an evacuation to save and secure lives of civilians in the conflict.
“Protecting civilians by evacuating them from the line of fire during combat is not a violation of the international law of conflict or a war crime. It is rather a commendable effort by the troops to prevent collateral damage during combat.
“Our troops should therefore be commended for making deliberate efforts to evacuate civilians in order to protect their lives and property.
“It is also crucial to point out, that troops deployed to fight terrorism in the NE do not attack or raze down villages, communities or settlements, rather they launch offensive on terrorists camps, enclaves and hide outs.
“Based on actionable intelligence, persons who provide logistics and other forms of support to the terrorists are arrested and subjected to thorough investigation by a combined team of professionals drawn from the intelligence community of the Armed Forces and other security agencies.
”Anyone not found culpable is not held in custody for further investigations.
“AI must, therefore, put an end to its reckless distortion of facts in its desperate bid to satisfy its puppeteers by undermining Nigerian Military campaign against terrorism in the NE.
”We urge members of the public to please discountenance AI report, as it is not a true and realistic reflection of troops’ counter terrorism operation in the NE,” the statement said.
In the meantime, some Nigerians who have been unbending in their support for the Armed Forces in winning the war against Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria told The DEFENDER last night that year 2020 they want to see quite a number of elements being identified to be aiding the terrorists by whatever means arrested and prosecuted.
One of them who spoke to us in Abuja said, “There will be no excuse. We have given President Buhari our votes as a mark of the confidence that we reposed in him to solve this problem. We are surely aware of the impediments caused by those elements such as non-cooperating NGOs like Amnesty International, some media organisations, religious leaders and opposition political parties.
“We are assuring you that none of these people is untouchable. Days of the untouchable were long gone. We have trusted your neutrality and integrity concerning judicial, legislative and electoral processes. Go after any opposition that is acting against the peace of the land and national interest, go after media and civil society whose activities aim at supporting the insurgency to continue to kill innocent Nigerians. Their foreign sponsors will find us fully on ground vehemently protecting and supporting you with our numbers,” he said.
Another respondent, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “If you observe how Boko Haram started, it started with recruitment in educational sector catching them young, particularly in University of Maiduguri whereby many of the students dropped out and preferred to go to modirasat where their radical ideology and extremism became strengthened. See where it led us.
“We have read reports in Muslim News and The DEFENDER about how another such extremists are building up in some universities particularly in South West and another in the North Central (names withheld) where even staff and lecturers of the university have been identified as leaders brainwashing, radicalising, negatively indoctrinating and instigating fresh students against their parents and thereby forcing the girls among them into marriage by deceit claiming they are helping them to enter Aljannah.
“Our military intelligence, the DSS and the police, if they truly do not feel happy about this insecurity killing our soldiers, police officers and men and civilians, should go after them in any university they are said to be. Enough is enough of these extremists!” He exclaimed.
