Buratai: Army Destroyed Boko Haram Enclaves.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has said that Nigerian Armed Forces had within the deadline given by President Muhammadu Buhari, crushed the Boko Haram sect and significantly destroyed its enclaves on Nigerian territory. He gave the assurance after his operational visits to troops locations in parts of Borno and Yobe states saying that North East will be a more peaceful region in 2016. Buratai said: “Going by the present pace and momentum of the military operation, no insurgent or group will be able operate freely by 2016. “Since Mr President’s mandate, we have done a lot to defeat these criminals; we have degraded them in such a manner that they can no longer hold any ground in our country. “They can no longer coordinate any attacks; we will, in the coming few days, completely close in on them, so the outlook for 2016 is bright. “I want to assure Nigerians, especially the Northeast, that 2016 will be more peaceful.’’ The Army chief stated that the army would consolidate on the successes recorded in the operations so far, underlying that there would be no room for the terrorists to function henceforth.

Buratai conveyed President Buhari’s congratulatory message to the soldiers for meeting the deadline. Meanwhile, Buratai advised them not to be contented as the terrorists would employ desperate measures to survive the onslaught by the military. At the base of 21 Brigade deployed from Damaturu to Buni Yadi, Buratai commended the soldiers for their efforts in curbing the activities of the insurgents in the area. He urged the troops to remain alert and make good use of equipment provided them for the operations. The COAS restated the commitment of the Army and other relevant authorities to give the necessary logistics to enable troops to sustain the momentum of the operations. President Buhari had yesterday December 24 expressed satisfaction with the successes recorded by the military.