The Nigerian Army has disclaimed
the report, claiming that troops advance at the ongoing Operation DEEP PUNCH II
was deliberately halted to allow the escape of the factional Boko Haram
terrorists group leader, Abubakar Shekau in Sambisa forest.
It described the report as
mischievous and false, aimed at rubbishing the efforts of the army in bringing
lasting peace to the crisis-ridden area.
Recall that leader of insurgent
group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, had again escaped from being captured by men
of the Nigerian Army.
Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, Deputy
Director Public Relations, Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE in a statement said the report was untrue and should be discarded.
According to him, though the
Theatre Command considers the misinformation as very laughable, it was quite
disheartening and capable of dampening the morale of troops who were working
round the clock to fight the terrorists in north eastern Nigeria.
He said, “Contrary to these
mischievous allegations, no such order or directive was given by anybody to any
of the units and formations on that operation. This spurious allegation is most
unfortunate and wake up call for the public to be very wary of agents of
destabilization that are determined to thwart our efforts of clearing the
remnants of Boko Haram terrorists hibernating in nooks and crannies of Sambisa
forest and the Lake Chad islands.
“Contrary to the insinuations
being touted and for a better understanding of military operations by the
authors of this misinformation, it is crucial to point out, that there are
several factors that influence the planning and conduct of military operations,
whether kinetic or otherwise. The ongoing Operation DEEP PUNCH II, which is
aimed at clearing Boko Haram insurgents from the Sambisa forest and the
northern fringes of Lake Chad region, was planned to be executed in phases.
“It is a phased operation and
therefore requires that at a predetermined point or stage, troops will be
halted either preparatory to transiting to another phase or outrightly
transiting depending on the threat situation. Secondly, during the operations,
troops advance could be halted when vehicles or other mobile equipment are
bugged down due to the difficulty of the terrain and for recovery purposes.
More also and very importantly too, in military operations avenues are
deliberately provided for troops to habour, where they rest and carry out
refitting of weapons and other equipment before resuming the operations.
“Additionally, booby traps and
land mines could also compel an advancing troop to halt to enable some
specialized squad, scout and assess the situation before movement resumes.
These and several other factors could precipitate the halting of troops during
operations.
“It is therefore very appalling
and unimaginable that a fundamental operational procedure could be
misinterpreted and be mischievously used as a psychological weapon to
indirectly dampen the morale of our troops.
“The Theatre Command is seriously
taken aback by this phony publication and considers it a psychological warfare
on troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE.
“Consequently, members of the
public are please enjoined to discountenance this misinformation as it is
untenable and does not reflect the strong chararacter and courageous
disposition of troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE.”
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