— Insurgency almost over – Sambo
By Jibrin Baba Ndace, Abuja, and Bashir Mohammed, Kano
Nigerian troops yesterday succeeded in clearing insurgents out of Madagali, which is the last place held by Boko Haram in Adamawa state, the Defence Headquarters has said.
In a statement he issued last night, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, who has been on a tour mission in the North-east, said there were no casualties on the side of the Nigerian forces, which included the Army, Air Force and other security agencies.
“Meanwhile, mopping up is ongoing, as more details will be provided by the Defence Headquarters,” he said.
Also yesterday, Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo described the Boko Haram insurgency as “a national calamity that is almost over.”
He noted that almost all the territories taken over by the terrorist sect in both Adamawa and Borno states had been reclaimed by the joint forces on the frontline.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after concluding a three-day working visit to Kano, Sambo said the insurgency was a new phenomenon to Nigeria like it was in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and other nations and wondered why the issue should be politicised “by those deriving pleasure in picking holes in the government.”
He said the federal government was able to contain the insurgency to some extent, adding that it succeeded in achieving the feat by remaining dogged in the face of the fact that insurgency “anywhere is not a problem that could be tackled in a jiffy.”
He, however, said the insurgents had almost taken the Nigerian military offguard, adding that many of the nation’s army personnel were yet to be fully conversant with the art of counter-insurgency and the techniques of modern warfare.
He said with the policy thrust of the government on the issue of security accorded top priority, Nigerian soldiers drafted to contain the insurgency had been emboldened to confront the insurgents using the sophisticated armaments procured.
“The morale and fighting spirit of the Nigerian Army is now at high ebb,” Sambo said.
The vice-president further revealed that majority of internally displaced persons have returned to their towns and villages after the military had successfully dislodged the insurgents.
“With the prevailing trend, government could be right to say that the menace is almost over.”
He said: “Take for example the issue of Borno state; before the insurgents were flushed out, they succeeded in taking over 14 local government areas and now that the military authorities were able to reclaim 12 out of it and are willing to enter Gwoza and the remaining towns to reclaim them, to me the feat the government so far achieved is remarkable.”