FG: The Economist Got It Wrong, We’re Winning War Against Terrorists, Bandits

*Advises media against denigration of Nigeria
*1,199 terrorists surrender as troops kill 88 bandits in Borno, Kaduna
Wale Ajimotokan and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The federal government yesterday said contrary to a report by The Economist that Jihadists threat in the north-east had “metastasized”, the military and other security agencies were winning the war against terrorists and bandits in the country.
Addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also appealed to the Nigerian media to stop endorsing the denigration of the country, its military and other critical state institutions by “some unscrupulous” foreign media.

In a related development, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has disclosed that about 1,199 Boko Haram terrorists and their families have surrendered to troops in Borno State, following intensified operations in the north-east.

The Economist recently reported that Jihadists had established strong presence in some parts of the north-east geo-political zone, giving the impression that the security situation was deteriorating.

But Mohammed disputed this claim, insisting that the security situation in the country, especially, in the north-east had improved with the, “daily pounding” of the terrorists and bandits by the military and other security agents.

“The bandits and terrorists are losing. It will continue to get better. When The Economist reported its patently-wrong and badly-researched story, it was immediately amplified by the local media, without even interrogating its content?
“This is totally unconscionable! For example, The Economist reported that the Jihadist threat in the North East has ‘metastasized’, but everyone knows that this is totally inaccurate.

“Prior to the time it was dislodged, which was before December 2015, when I led a team of local and international journalists to Bama in Borno State, Boko Haram established the headquarters of its so-called caliphate in that town (Bama), where it hoisted its flag, collected taxes as well as installed and removed Emirs at will.
“Today, Boko Haram has no caliphate anywhere in Nigeria. Yet, the Nigerian press regurgitated that report by The Economist,” the minister stated.

Mohammed explained that Boko Haram and ISWAP were taking on each other in a mutually-destructive lockstep, and that when they are not fighting each other, the terrorists are surrendering in droves as a result of heavy pounding by the military, adding that it was therefore wrong to say that Jihadists were carving out a caliphate in the region as The Economist reported.
He wondered why the Nigerian media had become an “echo chamber” for a foreign newspaper that denigrated the military and made light of the sacrifices of the valiant troops, asking if the British or American press would regurgitate a report in the Nigerian press, denigrating their militaries.

Explaining what the federal government was doing to manage the security situation, especially, in the region, the minister stated that the recent arrival of 12 Tucano military fighter jets, the restriction of sales of fuel, the banning of motorcycles, the disruption of communication network and the closing down of some markets in the north-east, had limited the capacity of the terrorists and bandits to carry out their deadly activities.

While appealing to the media to support the war against terrorists, the minister added that the Nigerian press had earned its epaulets, and its vibrancy has been honed by years of fearlessly taking on whoever crosses its path, whether they were colonialists or military rulers.

“It is, therefore, not a surprise that the media was assigned a role by the 1999 Constitution. Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution tasks the press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media to, at all time, be free to uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.

“The idea of the Nigerian media, especially, the traditional media, regurgitating anything and everything published or reported by its foreign counterpart is totally antithetical to its reputation of independence and vibrancy. The Nigerian media does itself a great disservice by turning itself into an echo chamber of the foreign media,” he said.

He further advised the media to stop endorsing the denigration of the country, military, and the country’s institutions by foreign media, saying, by regurgitating their inaccurate stories about Nigeria, the media was indirectly endorsing their stand.
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters, while hinting that the 1,199 Boko Haram terrorists and their families, recently surrendered to troops, also said security forces had decimated some 88 terrorists and armed bandits in Borno and Kaduna States, even as naval troops reportedly deactivated 27 illegal refining sites in the Niger Delta region.

Acting Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Brig Gen Benard Onyeuko, at a media briefing in Abuja, said air and ground offensive mounted by Operation Hadin Kai, led to the killing of 88 terrorists in Borno and Kaduna States including an ISWAP leader.
“Between 15 and 28 October 2021, a total of 1,199 terrorists and their families, comprising 114 adult males, 312 adult females and 773 children, surrendered to own troops at different locations in the north-east,” he said.
He also noted that the troops arrested 11 terrorists, including their informants and logistics suppliers in the course of the operation.

Onyeuko explained that the troops recovered 29 assorted weapons, 166 rounds of assorted ammunition, two gun trucks and 622 bags of fertilizer, used for production of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
According to him, the troops battled the insurgents in several towns, notably, Dar, Kumshe, Wulgo, Chabbol and Kijmatari villages in Borno State as well as locations along Ngala-Wulgo and Nguru-Kano roads, Dikwa and Mafa villages as well as Ngama village in Yobe State.

Relatedly, he said the air component of Operation Hadin Kai on October 20, 2021, killed 20 Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorist elements at Malam Fatori on the fringes of the Lake Chad, adding that the air interdiction destroyed 20 boats converging at the location with terrorists.

In the north-west, he said, airstrikes conducted at Saulawa-Farin Ruwa axis in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State by air force helicopter gunships neutralised no fewer than 50 armed bandits while troops of Operation Hadarin Daji killed nine armed bandits, rescued 15 kidnapped victims and arrested 34 bandits and their cohorts in Zamfara State.

The DDMO said the arrested bandits and recovered items were handed over to appropriate prosecuting agencies for necessary action, adding that 11 AK 47 rifles and 43 rounds of ammunition were recovered.

On the war against economic sabotage in the Niger Delta region, he said troops of “Operation Delta Safe discovered and immobilised 27 illegal refining sites, 57 ovens, 17 cooking pots/boilers, two cooling systems, 37 reservoirs, nine large dugout pits and 27 storage tanks, drums and sacks laden with illegally refined oil products.
“The troops also arrested nine suspected criminals and recovered one dane gun, among other items including 788,500 litres of illegally refined AGO and 229,000 litres of stolen crude oil,” he said.