Christopher Musa, minister of defence, says terrorists and bandits are recording heavy casualties as the Nigerian military intensifies counterterrorism operations in the northern parts of the country.
Musa spoke on Thursday shortly after President Bola Tinubu
held a closed-door meeting with security chiefs at the presidential villa in
Abuja.
Musa said the security chiefs met with the president to
brief him on the current situation on the ground.
“You know that there have been a series of attacks, and the
security forces have actually risen to the occasion. We came here to brief him
so he can have a better understanding of what’s going on,” the minister said.
“We know sometimes the interpretation, especially through
the media, has not been too direct. We felt we should put the record straight,
which we have done.”
He stated that although the military recently lost very
courageous soldiers in the counterterrorism war, the terrorists have recorded
greater losses.
“The terrorists and the bandits are taking more casualties.
Their commanders are being killed. We have lost a number of very courageous
officers and men, which is highly regrettable, but we want to assure Nigerians
it is a commitment we are putting on the ground to ensure that Nigeria is safe
and secure,” he said.
Musa said Tinubu had promised to provide more equipment for
the military to “prosecute the war” and secure victory.
The minister stressed that the Nigerian armed forces had
adjusted their strategies after the recent attacks, during which troops killed
several terrorist commanders.
“We have adjusted our strategies. You can see in the past
few days we’ve taken over those locations. We’ve killed their commanders and
taken over their assets. We’ll continue to do more,” he said.
Musa added that terrorists often intensify attacks during
Ramadan because “they feel when they die, they are going to heaven, so they are
ready to commit any offence or get killed because they believe there is a
reward.”
“I assure you Mr President has approved so many things that
are coming on our line, and we’re working together as a team,” the minister
said.
“You can see all members of the security forces are here to
assure Nigerians and to assure Mr. President that we’re on track and we will
succeed.”
Aside from the defence minister, those in attendance at the
meeting included Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA); Adeola Ajayi,
director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS); and Olufemi
Oluyede, chief of defence staff (CDS).
Others were Waidi Shaibu, chief of army staff; Kelvin Aneke,
chief of air staff; and Idi Abbas, chief of naval staff.
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