The Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, says the Boko Haram/Islamic States West African Province terrorists are not waging war against the armed forces but against Nigeria.
Abubakar stated this while speaking with defence correspondents who are on a media tour of the theatre of operation on Tuesday in Maiduguri.
He said the war against insurgency was an asymmetric warfare that was difficult to fight, urging the media to treat terrorism as war against the nation.
The Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, says the Boko Haram/Islamic States West African Province terrorists are not waging war against the armed forces but against Nigeria.
Abubakar stated this while speaking with defence correspondents who are on a media tour of the theatre of operation on Tuesday in Maiduguri.
He said the war against insurgency was an asymmetric warfare that was difficult to fight, urging the media to treat terrorism as war against the nation.
The theatre commander said that troops had continued to make sacrifices to ensure that communities affected by the activities of Boko Haram/ISWAP were stabilised.
He said the military had also ensured that human rights were upheld in all the lines of operation they needed to face to carry out military action.
“We have our troops here in the field spreading to different locations during these harsh weather conditions, which can rapidly become also very cold at night.
“So there are heroes, and I tell you, we will do well to appreciate them occasionally, and the only way to do that is through the media.
“These are also Nigerians, and it is not the terrorists against the armed forces. It is the terrorists against Nigeria as a nation.
“So once we begin to understand this and have a common front, we will be able to make very tangible progress,” he said.
The Chief of Staff, Operation Hadin Kai, Brig.-Gen. Adamu Ibrahim, explaining why female terrorists were not being killed or prosecuted, said that Nigeria was a signatory to international law of armed conflict.
