Boko Haram: Atiku Hails Military, Buhari

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has congratulated the officers and men of the Nigeria Army on their spectacular feat on the invasion and sacking of Camp Zero, the last Boko Haram stronghold in Sambisa Forest.

Describing the success of the soldiers as “a military feat worth celebrating,” the former vice president said the army has made good on its promise to finally defeat the terrorists and bring peace to the North-east region of our country.

He added that by accomplishing this feat, the army has shown that it has truly regained form and its famed fighting ability for which the Nigeria Army is known.

The Turakin Adamawa said further that this spectacular victory is the result of committed and focused leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, the military commanders at the battlefront, the intelligence agencies and the unity of purpose exhibited by the nation’s military chiefs to rid the country of the Boko Haram menace.

Atiku also commended Nigerians who at every point in the anti-terror war has always stood by and supported the military with prayers and good wishes. He also thanked the international community and close partners of Nigeria in the anti-terror war saying that the final routing at Sambisa Forest hopefully should herald the end of terrorism in the country.

The Turakin Adamawa states that the victory presents the people and government of Nigeria as well as the country’s international partners with the challenge of consolidating the peace by joining hands for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and re-development of the entire North-east region which was heavily devastated by the activities of the Boko Haram while the anti-terror war lasted.

Arguing that final peace and reconstruction cannot take place without the return and resettlement of the displaced persons in internally dislaced persons (IDPs) camps in the region, the former vice president called on the government and all stakeholders including international partners and donor agencies to seize the momentum of the final routing of the Boko Haram, to intensify the process of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Atiku described the new situation in the region as the best Christmas and New Year gift to a nation that has been under tremendous stress on account of the deadly activities of these insurgents, adding that the North-east region can now rejoin the nation’s development process which it has been denied by the over seven-year insurgency.