The Nigerian military has debunked the claim that has been circulated in the media that the Nigerian forces cannot defeat the Boko Haram insurgents.
In a statement signed on Friday, by the Acting Director Defence Information, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, the military described such claims as untrue and misleading, stating that Nigeria’s military can fight the terrorists.
“The story carried by some newspapers in the country titled, ‘why military can’t defeat Boko Haram’, credited to have been given by the military high command is purely and unreservedly misleading and can best be described as a figment of press imagination.
“As far as the military is concerned Boko Haram insurgency is within the ambit of what the Nigerian Armed Forces can handle.”
Rabe further stated that as opposed to the story published in the media, it is untrue that the service chiefs “decried inadequate equipment and non release of 2015 military votes as the reason of continued insurgency” in the country.
He revealed that the aim of the story is merely to diminish the armed forces in the media.
Rabe also maintained that the meeting between the service chiefs and the senate was a private meeting and the context of discussion was therefore not privy to the media.
“The story is false and far from what happened when the service chiefs visited the leadership of the senate.
“But for avoidance of doubt, the visit of the military leadership to the senate president was purely a closed-door meeting aimed at intimating the senate about the level of successes recorded in the onslaught against Boko Haram and to assure the National Assembly and all Nigerians that the military is winning and will soon see the end of this menace called Boko Haram.
“Consequently, the newspaper captions are inappropriate and misleading designed to further confuse the general public about the situation in the North East.”
He also enjoined the media to join hands with the military by forsaking any report that might generate panic or give rise to the activities of the terrorists.
“While still soliciting the support of the media in the fight against insurgents, the Defence Headquarters is using this opportunity to appeal to the media to eschew any report capable of inciting or encouraging the terrorists to continue their terror attacks on innocent, law-abiding citizens.”
He further urged that since the military is always ready to give all necessary information to the general public,
“We therefore urge the media to always verify the sources of story especially, in matters that touch on national security and defence.”
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