ABUJA: Defence Headquarters said on Thursday that it Asari Dokubo threat on military is laughable and it chose from pursuing Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, a former militant leader from the Niger Delta, in order to avoid being charged an undemocratic manner.
Maj.Gen. Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, gave this statement in Abuja in response to a recent story on Asari-Dokubo’s alleged threat to fire down a military aircraft that was purportedly flying above his house.
Addressing reporters, the DHQ spokesperson called Asari-Dokubo’s warning absurd and challenged him, if he was brave enough, to face soldiers in warfare.
Buba said, Now, the comment by an individual that he can shoot down military helicopters is laughable. And I am about to laugh at that. We are in a democracy, and we are professionals. Of course, we cannot just, based on somebody’s comments, begin to take certain actions. They would accuse the military of being undemocratic
Some may choose to refer to them as bandits, but others in the North-West and North-East will call them terrorists.
We can see that they are all terrorists, I assure you. The troops are making progress significantly. Eliminating terrorist leadership is a priority for us, as I have stated, and we have been carrying it out. We have eliminated over 300 terrorist leaders in the previous three quarters, not to mention their foot fighters.
We have been effectively undermining their military might and combat capability in order to achieve our goal. You have a view of the quantity of weapons and ammunition we have found, as stated in the brief you were given
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There are other security agencies and forces in the nation besides the military. In addressing such matters, other security services have a constitutional duty to play.
He doesn’t have that ability, as I have informed you, but I will let the security personnel in charge handle it. We will destroy you if you come to the battlefield. He ought to visit the front lines to see whether we can respond.
Buba emphasized that the military’s primary objective continues to be eliminating terrorists in all of its operational areas.
Terrorists are the enemy we fight,” he declared. In the many operating theaters where they are present, some people can decide to refer to them by other names. In the Northwest
Buba said a terrorist kingpin in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was killed in an operation conducted during the week. He noted that a total of 165 terrorists were killed, and 238 suspects were arrested.
Buba added that troops also arrested 35 suspected oil thieves in the South-South region and prevented the theft of an estimated sum of N688,125,150.00.
He said, “Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed two dugout pits, 58 boats, and 39 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 13 cooking ovens, 35 drums, one motorcycle, one tricycle, four speed boats, 13 vehicles, and 65 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 789,200 litres of stolen crude oil and 64,950 litres of illegally refined AGO.”
Buba also noted that troops recovered 153 assorted weapons and 2,182 rounds of assorted ammunition.
The breakdown, according to him, includes 81 AK-47 rifles, 23 fabricated rifles, 27 Dane guns, 13 pump-action guns, five locally-made pistols, three revolver pistols, 30 AK-47 magazines, and one bayonet.
Other items recovered are, 1,561 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 278 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, 70 rounds of 50mm ammunition, 72 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 87 live cartridges, one Baofeng radio, 19 vehicles, 21 motorcycles, 45 mobile phones, and the sum of N64,100.00, among other items.