Following the recent attacks and isolated killings in Southern Kaduna, the Nigerian military has deplored the menace and take out the perpetrators.
John Enenche, Coordinator Defence Media Operations (DMO), who disclosed this on Thursday, said the move is expected to achieve the desired result with the provision of credible and actionable intelligence specifically from primary sources.
Enenche said the special forces were deployed to the Joint Operations Area covering the various flash points in the state, while troops of Operation Safe Haven have continued to intensify efforts aimed at securing the lives and property in the general area.
“In this regard, the locals are requested to cooperate with the security agencies by availing them with the required information that will be useful to our collective objective of taking out the criminals from the area”, he said.
The Coordinator further informed that banditry, terrorism and other forms of criminality witnessed a decline in the last one month across the northern region due to the “overwhelming superiority of the troops over the criminal elements.”
“For the past one month, we have witnessed a downward trend in the activities of armed bandits and cattle rustlers in the general areas of Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto and adjoining states. Most of these criminal elements have been decimated.
“Gradually there is restoration of human activities in the zone. Farmers have returned to their farms while other economic activities have picked up across the zone”, the coordinator said.
In the North East Zone, Enenche noted that there has been a reduction in the number of incidences recorded so far. He said troops in the region have drastically degraded the operational capabilities of the BHT/ISWAP elements.
“Troops have also sustained the clearance operations, aggressive patrols and Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance missions, sustained air offensive operations as well as artillery and aerial bombardments in the theatre of operation”, he added.
Sequel to the warning by US AFRICOM that extremists have begun deploying several strategies to silently re-establish themselves across some regions in Africa including the West Africa sub-region, Enenche assured that the Armed Forces of Nigeria and all the relevant security agencies are leaving nothing to chance.
“Consequently, actions in place in this regard are being reviewed to handle this all important intelligence appropriately.
I am directed to assure the general public that this is not a one off but continuous effort as it were to ensure that the security agencies are ahead of this evolving security challenge”, Enenche said.
