The Defence Headquarters clarified on Thursday that it has refrained from taking action against former Niger Delta militant warlord, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, to avoid accusations of acting “undemocratically.”
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, stated this in Abuja while addressing a recent report concerning Asari-Dokubo’s alleged threat to shoot down a military helicopter that had reportedly flown near his residence.
Speaking to journalists, the DHQ spokesman dismissed Asari-Dokubo’s threat as “laughable,” daring him to engage soldiers in actual combat if he felt confident enough.
Buba remarked, “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.
“The military is not the only security force or department in the country. There are other security agencies that have a constitutional role to play in handling such issues.
“I tell you that he doesn’t have that capability, but I will allow the security forces responsible for such matters to take it up. As for us, come to the battlefield, and we’ll take you out. He should come to the battlefield and see whether we can react or not.”
Buba further emphasized that the military’s primary objective remains targeting terrorists across various regions of operations.
“For us, the enemy we fight are the terrorists. Some may choose to call them different names in the different theatres of operations where they exist. In the North-West and North-East, some will say terrorists; some may prefer to call them bandits.
“I tell you, they are all terrorists, and that is what we see. Troops are making significant progress. As I mentioned earlier, we prioritise eliminating terrorist leadership, and we have been doing just that. In the last three quarters, we have taken out over 300 terrorist commanders, not to mention their foot soldiers.
“Our aim is to diminish their fighting capabilities and damage their military capabilities, which we have been successfully doing. As indicated in the brief you received, you can see how many weapons and ammunition we have recovered.”
Buba also disclosed that a prominent terrorist leader in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was neutralized in a recent operation conducted during the week.
He reported that 165 terrorists were killed, and 238 individuals were arrested.
“Our operations have destroyed a substantial part of the combat capacity of these terror groups and their leadership. For instance, one of the notorious terrorist commanders in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was eliminated from the battlefield during the week. Troops are, therefore, increasingly making significant strides across all theatres of operations.
“During the week under review, troops neutralised 165 terrorists, arrested 238 persons, and rescued 188 kidnapped victims.”
Buba also mentioned the arrest of 35 suspected oil thieves in the South-South region and the prevention of oil theft worth an estimated N688,125,150.00.
“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 went on to say that troops also recovered 153 assorted weapons and 2,182 rounds of ammunition.
The recovered items include 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 seized materials included, “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.”
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