Chief of air staff: Insurgents recruit quickly — but we’re now killing them faster

Isiaka Amao, chief of air staff, says insurgents and bandits recruit fighters quickly.

Amao said this in a virtual media chat between journalists and service chiefs tagged – Open Ears Dialogue. 

The chief of air staff said despite the quick recruitment by insurgents, the military is fighting and killing them faster than they are recruiting.

“Bandits and terrorists recruit quickly. As we take them out, they recruit. But we are now taking them out faster than they are recruiting,” Amao was quoted by Daily Trust.

He said owing to the absence of certain factors promoting insurgency, there has been a record of rapid reduction in insurgency in Nigeria.

“Most of the self-acclaimed leaders of terror are gone. Most of the false ideologies are being corrected. Most of their funding has been cut off. Most of their hideouts have been discovered,” the chief of air staff said.

“So some things are now more obvious to the terrorists. There is a higher probability to survive if they surrender.  

“It is a war that they cannot win, so surrendering is the only way. 

“More than 36,000 have surrendered. We expect thousands more to follow in the days ahead.” 

Speaking further, Amao said illegal crude oil refining activities in the Niger Delta area of the country is a security threat, while adding that some leaders in the region are involved in illegal crude oil activities.

“I cannot give you the formula for success in the Niger Delta, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody,” he said.

“We have observed that some leaders in the Niger Delta have been trying to please everybody. This has created more problems than solutions.  

“We believe there should be more political will, followed by action. There is a growing gap in exemplary leadership in some of the local government areas. Some leaders have been accused of sponsoring illegal crude oil refining sites. 

“What is required goes beyond security. Stakeholders have to dialogue, negotiate and design innovative means that leads to a win-win solution. For instance, the development of modular refineries should be explored, in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and communities. 

“Currently, our operations in the Niger Delta have more emphasis on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).”