By Dansu Peter
AACP made this plea in a statement signed by its President, Hon. Haske Abdulmuminu, on Monday.
The gallant troops of Operation Lafiya Dole, on Saturday, neutralised an attempted attack by terrorists on Buni Gari Village in Gujba Local Government Area of the state.
This comes barely a week after the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General T.Y Buratai relocated to the Theatre of Operations, promising not to leave until the Northeast is rid of fleeing terrorists.
With the recent development, Arewa Action for Change and Peace believes this mission is closer than envisaged, especially with the charismatic, dogged and resilient COAS on ground.
However, the group said even more can be achieved with acknowledgement and the right motivation from citizens.
While urging the nation to rally behind the troops, ACP assured of its unflinching support, especially in dampening the work of Boko Haram sympathizers to disconcert Nigerians by purveying fake news on social media.
On its part, the Arewa youths appealed to the troops to intensify efforts to flush out the remnants of insurgents and also be mindful of the dynamics of how COVID-19 interplays with the military operations.
AACP, though, advised the troops to approach the remaining operations without the intention of taking captives to avoid the Chadian situation where 44 of 58 captured terrorists committed suicide.
Read full statement below:
The Arewa Action for Change and Peace (AACP) has called on troops of the Nigerian Army to intensify the ongoing war against Boko Haram to ensure that the final defeat of terrorism as ordered by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai is actualized on a timely basis and with lasting results.
The catchment area of Arewa has been on the receiving end of Boko Haram’s murderous acts and lawlessness, which makes the defeat of the terrorists of key importance to us. With the success of the army, we envisage that our economy in the north of Nigeria and our way of life can be restored to levels that are consistent with our aspiration as a people.
It is on this note that we describe the war efforts of the Army as impressive even as we are citing the recent neutralization of 105 terrorists during an operation in Yobe state as proof that the Army would have completely wiped out Boko Haram if they were not finding safe havens within the borders of Nigeria’s neighbors to the northeast. We will like to see more unrepentant Boko Haram fighters bite the dust, the ideology that drives them is in no way related to the Arewa way of life or the religious piety they are using to brainwash their members to take up extremism.
Now that the terrorists are no longer free to escape across the border, beyond Nigeria’s jurisdiction, we can see that troops led by Lt. General Buratai, who relocated to the theatre of operations, have made enormous gains beyond the expectations of Nigerians. The troops could do more with acknowledgement and the right motivation from citizens and AACP will not be found lacking in providing this non-material and non-monetary incentives to the troops. They have found in us a cheerleading group that is confident of their capacity to deliver victory.
We consequently want to assure the troops and the leadership of the Nigerian Army that Nigerians are fully and in total support of all their efforts. Citizens will continue to pray for the troops to vanquish the evil represented by Boko Haram. AACP will on its part dampen the efforts by Boko Haram sympathizers to disconcert Nigerians by purveying fake news in the social media. We will as part of our support regularly appraise citizens about the efforts the Army is making to restore peace to our region.
AACP is however appealing to the troops and the leadership of the Nigeria Army to be mindful of the dynamics of how COVID-19 interplays with the military operations. The pandemic makes it imperative that the Army finishes this war once and for all especially at a Time that the enemies are in disarray whilst their cyber assets are in hiding for fear of Covid-19. The other imperative is the need to mop up the remnant of Boko Haram during ongoing COVID-19 lockdown so that they will not be in a position to spread virus later on account of trying to escape into other major Nigerian cities.
While not being insensitive, AACP is of the view that the current onslaught should be merciless on the account that previous instances where troops showed mercy were abused by terrorists who later storm detention centres to free their members in captivity. Captured terrorists that regain freedom have proven to be more vicious and disproportionately more bloodthirsty than those that have never been captured.
It is also important that troops approach the remaining operations without the intention of taking captives in order to avoid the kind of mess in which the Chadian authorities have now found themselves after 44 of 58 Boko Haram terrorists they captured during battle committed mass suicide while in custody. Boko Haram NGO assets are now using the incident to criminalize the Chadian government; and it is on record that the international NGO conspiracy against Nigeria is more intense so it will be catastrophic for Nigeria to fall into such situation where captured terrorists die in captivity.
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