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| Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika |
He said while he was not concerned with ongoing talks on the possibility of going into dialogue with the members of the sect, the army was worried that the radical Islamic sect had continnued to kill Nigerians.
He made this known in Abuja, while addressing a press conference on the forthcoming Army Day Celebrations scheduled for July 6.
The Army boss said the fact that Boko Haram members detonated a few bombs in some places did not make the group invisible.
Ihejirika’s uncompromising stance came in the wake of renewed insurgence by Boko Haram, whose two separate bombings in Maiduguri last week left a total of 28 people dead, including children.
The theme of the Army is: ‘Enhancing the Capacity of the Nigerian Army to meet Contemporary security Challenges.’
Ihejirika explained that the Islamic sect only took advantage of Nigerians general complacency on security matters to perpetrate their heinous acts.
As a result of the havoc wreaked by Boko Haram, Ihejirika explained that the Army would enforce the directive of President Goodluck Jonathan that the Boko Haram be stamped out.
He said, "We are appraising the issues involved in Boko Haram; the Nigerian Army will carry out Mr. President’s directives that the issue is stamped out.
"This (issue of dialogue) is not the concern of the Army. Our concern is that people are being killed and people are committing crimes unnecessarily for no just cause.
"The fact that they exploded two bombs does not make them invicible. They have only capitalised on the general complacency to security. This is a criminality that should not be given a chance."
With heightened bombing in the North-East zone, masterminded by Boko Haram, the Nigeria Army has despatched 3,000 troops to Maiduguri, to flush out members of the sect.
The Joint Task Force in Maiduguri, led by Maj. Gen. Jack Nwagbo, is exploring the option of banning the use of commercial motorcycles, which the sect had used to perpetrates its criminal activities.
A security source had confided in The PUNCH on Monday that the plan to ban the use of commercial motorcycles arose from the thinking that it would help to keep Boko Haram elements in check.
"I cannot talk of arrest now. But I think those leading the operations are pushing for a legal framework to stop the use of commercial motorcycles in the area," a source said on Monday.
The Chief of Army Staff, therefore, enjoined Nigerians to resist being intimidated by the Boko Haram group, stressing that it was only adopting the strategy of instilling fears in the minds of citizens.
Ihejirika said, "Nobody should be intimidated by Boko Haram; their tactics is to intimidate people into keeping silent. If they are not cowards, why should they not carry out their acts in the open?"
He added that the present security challenge was more of intelligence rather than a physical exchange of fire.
Further, Ihejirika lamented that some unpatriotic Nigerians were aiding the sect.
He urged the Nigerian Customs Service to review its operational tactics in order to nip in the bud, smuggling of arms into the country.
He said people were allowed into the country without being subjected to procedures for unclear reasons.
When asked to assess the performance of soldiers deployed for internal security operations in Maiduguri, he said he would only be satisfied when the Boko Haram members were arrested and the incidents of bombings brought under total control.
Ihejirika also said the Nigerian Army had introduced the establishment of a robust Dogs Section to complement the efforts of its operatives; established new units and also modified the training of soldiers in the face of new challenges.
According to him, the Army had reduced the height requirement that should qualify recruits into service because of the realisation that some short men were very intelligent.
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