Troops ‘now fighting insurgency’ with Boko Haram’s tactics

Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff (COAS), says his men are now using the very strategy of the Boko Haram sect to dislodge the insurgents.

Speaking in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, after a courtesy call on Abiola Ajimobi, governor of the state, Buratai commended the troops for displaying professionalism in the troubled region of the country.

He attributed the successes recorded in the fight against insurgency to President Muhammadu Buhari’s political will and resilience of his men.

“We are using the same guerrilla strategy adopted by the terrorists. We are giving them back their own strategy. We have motorbike battalion which has added more capacity as well as the ability to move quickly to wherever the terrorists are,” he said.

“We have intensified a number of actions that will help the troops get to the terrorists before they run out of their hideouts or cause any havoc. To totally wipe out Boko Haram, we require the support of everybody.

“It is the commitment of the president, government, the leadership of the military, the troops and the support of Nigerians that brought the successes.”

Responding, Moses Adeyemo, deputy governor of the state who received the COAS, commended the army for its efforts to uphold the nation’s territorial integrity.

He said the priority of the administration is to secure the lives and property on which infrastructural development could thrive.

He praised the officers and men of the 2 mechanised division, Nigerian army, Ibadan, for helping the state government to maintain law and order.

“The purpose of governance is to maintain peace and security after which every other thing will follow in terms of infrastructural development,” he said.

“And our government is committed to sustaining the peace in the state.”