Military: Plans By Terror Groups to Overrun Nigeria Failed

•Says good governance key to ending insurgency

•Troops vanquish scores of insurgents 

•ISWAP, Boko clash claims 30 fighters

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

Military authorities, yesterday, said terror groups had failed in their bid to overrun the country.

It, however, maintained that, good governance remained key to ending the war against insurgency.

But in a fierce encounter, troops of Operation Hadin Kai, have vanquished scores of terrorists during an ambush at suspected crossing point of the terrorists along Maiduguri-Damboa Road, when a fire-fight ensued.

In another development, terror groups, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram terrorists clashed recently at the Tumbum Allura and Kangar ISWAP camps, killing over 30 fighters of the terror groups in Borno State.

Speaking during a media chat in Maiduguri, the Theater Commander Operation Hadin Kai, Maj Gen Christopher Musa, said the insurgents including fighters of the Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province failed in their bid to take over the country.

“They have seen within themselves that they cannot take out the Federal Republic of Nigeria, they cannot face the Armed Forces”, he said, stressing that, good governance remained key to ending hostilities in the North-east.

According to him, “For us to be able to get this wrapped up, we need to be able to get the non-kinetic aspect and this non-kinetic aspect has to do with good governance, reaching out to the commanders of these groups, including looking and searching out where sponsors are.”

Musa disclosed that, talks with the commanders of terror groups form part of the “non-kinetic” approach to ending Nigeria’s 13-year insurgency war.

“So, it is good that we open other windows as we are doing this, there will be dialogue behind the doors, so that they give them a leeway to exit so that there will be peace, because they know it is just a matter of time,” he said.

Maintaining that, the military would not compromise its stance on ransom payment to non-state actors, he said insurgents sneaked out during military operations and moved into other countries in the Lake Chad only to return after military operations.

The theatre commander said the panacea to terrorism in Nigeria should start from “good parenting system and good schools,” adding that “schools should be in place, lectures given on security awareness in schools, good governance, database of citizens, amongst others.

“We need to go back to be able to build capacity from behind. Our schools must be in place, we must have good governance, we must be able to curtail and understand who are Nigerians and how do we do this? Build capacity. Every Nigerian must take ownership of what is going on, don’t throw blames but take ownership,” he said.

Nevertheless,  troops of  Operation Hadin Kai eliminated scores of Boko Haram fighters after it sprang an ambush at the suspected crossing point of the terrorists along Maiduguri-Damboa Road.

It was gathered that the troops of the 199 Special Forces Battalion, in collaboration with Civilian Joint Task Force, conducted a successful ambush in Kamala near Maiduguri.

“In the fire-fight that ensued, six of the terrorists were instantly gunned down while some escaped with bullets wound,” a military source said.

Relatedly, fighters of the ISWAP and the Boko Haram sect clashed at the Tumbum Allura and Kangar ISWAP camps, killing over 30 terrorists in Borno State.

The clash was reportedly led by five commanders of the Boko Haram in Abadam, a border community with Niger Republic.

It was gathered that the 13-hour clash led to the killing of over two dozen fighters on both sides of the terror groups in the Lake Chad region.

Military sources in Maiduguri, said, “We have been hearing sounds of heavy gunshots since yesterday in the Kangar axis of the state. After a successful dislodgement of the ISWAP terrorists, Doro, the Commander of Boko Haram, later withdrew his militants,” a source said, adding that, he later headed towards his base, Lele Karya, a border hideout of the terrorists with Niger.