By Joseph Erunke

ABUJA—THE Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, has said the Army’s swift and proportionate response to the activities of Boko Haram terrorists shortly after he was made the nation’s Army chief, led to an immediate degrading of the terrorists’ capabilities.

He said at the time he took over the mantle of leadership in the Army, troops’ morale, especially those in the battlefield, was low, a situation he said paved the way for the terrorists to gain advantage over the troops.

Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai looks on at the headquaters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri, Borno State in northcentral Nigeria, on October 4, 2017.
The United Kingdom is providing expert training to the Nigerian military in helping to develop the skills necessary to tackle the terror threat of Boko Haram in North East Nigeria. Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency began in 2009 and has killed at least 20,000 and forced more than 2.6 million from their homes. / AFP

Buratai, who also recalled that 14 local government areas in the North-East of Borno were already under the Command of the terrorists when he assumed office, said his decision to have a professionally-responsive Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles, added great value to Army’s war against the insurgents.

The Army chief spoke in Abuja yesterday, in his opening remark at a retreat for past commanders of the ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.

While noting that Boko Haram-led insurgency, which began in 2009 in the North-East, had been one of the most daunting national security challenges that had threatened and undermined the peace and security of Nigeria, Buratai insisted that the military capability of the terrorists had been maximally degraded.

“The situation was so bad when I was appointed Chief of Army Staff in June 2015, that about 14 local government areas in Borno State were under the full control of Boko Haram terrorists.

Commends Buhari

“The need to swiftly respond to this challenge informed the fashioning of my mission statement which is ‘to have a professionally-responsive Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles.

“I am glad to say that commanders have all keyed in to this vision, with the resultant effect of a change in battle tide against the Boko Haram terrorists, which led to the successful degradation of their military capability to hold any portion of the Nigerian territory,” he added.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the necessary logistic support needed to battle the insurgents.