PMB asks military to crush B’Haram in 3 months

President Muhammadu Buhari has given the new service chiefs an ultimatum of three months to put an end to insurgency.

He also charged them to be accountable for all men and equipment under their command, saying the welfare of the troops should be uppermost in their minds.

Buhari gave the directive at the presidential villa in Abuja during the decoration of the new service chiefs on Thursday.

“You are all aware of the various security challenges facing our nation. These challenges include the activities of Boko Haram terrorists, armed banditry, kidnapping and militancy of various forms, to mention a few,” he said.

“The activities of these misguided groups and individuals have resulted in wanton destruction of lives and property of our citizens as a disruption of social economic lives of millions of Nigerians.

“The increasing incidence of attacks and destruction perpetrated by these insurgents have led to the deployment of various instruments of national power in a bid to contain their activities and restoring law and order in every part of the country.

“Rightly, the armed forces have been in the vanguard of the fight against terrorism. While commending the efforts of the armed forces so far, you need to brace up and continue to team up with other stakeholders to come up with a well-coordinated joint effort which will bring a desired end to these insurgencies within three months.”

The president warned the military leaders not to encourage acts that could jeopardise his recent effort to tackle insecurity.

“I have been to several countries with the aim of canvassing for global support to eliminate terrorism from Nigeria,” he said.

“These efforts, which include establishment of the multi national joint task force, should be complemented by you. You should therefore re-professionalise your force and give your troops creditable training so that they can perform their job creditably.

“You should also ensure that they abide by the newly enforced rules and regulations of international standards while carrying out their assigned tasks. In particular you must protect innocent civilian in the theatre of conflicts.”

The service chiefs are Abayomi Olonishakin, chief of defence staff; Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff; Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, chief of naval staff; and Sadique Abubakar, chief of air staff.

They were appointed on July 13 and confirmed by the senate on August 4.