How to stop Boko Haram crisis –Army chief

Posted by admin Armed Forces, Boko Haram, Latest Politics Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Onyeabor Azubuike Ihejirika, yesterday, said intelligence and patriotism on the part of religious leaders and the generality of Nigerians, remained the only solution to the security threat posed by members of the Boko Haram sect terrorising the country.

Ihejirika, who spoke at a press briefing to mark the 2011 Nigerian Army Day Celebrations (NADCEL), called on Nigerians not to be discouraged by the cowardice act of the group instilling fears in the citizenry but come up with useful information that would end the menace.

He said it was high time religious leaders stopped preaching inciting messages to their followers with the aim of causing disaffection, war and hatred among fellow citizens. Ihejirika, while warning those aiding and abetting the Boko Haram sect of the wrath of the army if they did not desist from doing so, said since the Nigerian army fought and paid the supreme price of keeping the nation one, it would not hesitate to do the same thing all over again if forced to, to save the country from individuals who he said were doing their uttermost best to tear the nation apart.

He, therefore, called on Nigerians not to be intimidated by the modus operandis of the disgruntled group but come with relevant information that would lead to their arrest. “So Nigerians, religious leaders, are the people that must come out and expose these criminals and we want to assure them that any information they give out will be handled confidentially and act promptly in arresting the perpetrators.”

The COAS also called on government not to go into any form of negotiation or grant amnesty to members of the group, saying, “amnesty or no amnesty for any group is not really the concern for the army. For us, the issue is that people are being killed unnecessarily. People are committing crime for no just cause by whatever name they are called. That cannot be allowed to happen,” he said. Speaking on the operations of the newly established task force “Operation Restore Order”, to tackle the Boko Haram crisis in Maiduguri and other states in the North, Ihejirika said the army would not rest on its oars until it completely crushed the activities of the group.

He said, “the fact that they have been able to do one or two bombs successfully does not make them invincible. They have only managed to capitalise on the general complacency towards security to do one or two things they have been able to do. If people fought and paid the supreme price of keeping Nigeria one, why would certain Nigerians be doing their best to tear the nation apart. It is for some of these reasons that elements of Boko Haram strive.

“It is because there are several unpatriotic Nigerians that are aiding and abetting. So the way forward is for us to be patriotic and remember that the Nigerian nation we are enjoying now, people paid the price to keep this country one. In any case, the same army is still ready to pay the supreme price all over again to keep Nigeria one.

“So we are ready to go all out. No one should be intimidated by the so-called

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