How we’ll tackle Boko Haram, Army Chief of Staff

Chief of Army staff

THE Nigerian Army has formulated 11 principles of  internal security and counter terrorism operation to confront
the Boko Haram menace.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Azubuike Ihejirika, who disclosed this on Wednesday while declaring open a two-day Army Security Awareness workshop in Abuja, said the principles included mode, commitment, resilience, sustenance, pro-activeness and timeliness.
According to him, the principles, especially commitment and mode, if properly imbibed by troops will go a long way in empowering personnel to adequately meet the challenge posed by the activities of the Boko Haram sect and other criminal elements.
The army chief  said that the menace posed by terrorism was a global phenomenon, which required the close cooperation of all countries to contain it , while the activities of  the Boko Haram sect continued to threaten peace and security.
He said that the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDS) and increasing confrontation with security forces made it imperative to devise means of decisively dealing with the threat posed by the sect .
He noted that it had been the lot of the army to respond and deal with the threats, but in many instances, the response by troops had not been as expected, probably owing to the lack of requisite training since threats to security were dynamic
The army chief noted that the unpredictable and random nature of terrorist acts made it difficult for security forces to protect all potential victims and targets, since the terrorists were faceless and had an unlimited number of potential targets
He stated that the adoption of suicide bombing was a clear indication that the Boko Haram sect had no value for human life and the people it claimed to represent, hence the army would continue to devise new methods and improve on current ones in the fight against terrorism and other threats to security.
The army boss said that the mass media, especially the internet, had become the key enablers and the main strategic communication assets for terrorists that had expanded their communication asymmetry, adding that with these assets, terrorists were able  to compensate for a significant part of their  weaker firepower.
Source: Nigerian tribune