Army Withdraws Troops From Mali To Emergency States

By: Bayo Oladeji, Mohammed Ismail on May 20, 2013 - 2:34am

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The military has withdrawn some troops from Mali to participate in the ongoing operation against the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three states last Tuesday.
A security source disclosed that no sooner had the military troops began moving to Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states to take over the security management than the order came from Defence Headquarters for some of the troops to come back home and team up with those that are executing the war.
The source said, “The war against the terrorists is considered of great importance for now and, fortunately for us, the war in Mali is coming to an end now. What is left is the political solution. The Islamic extremists have been rendered powerless and doing same to the terrorists in the country would not be a problem at all.”
According to him, the war against the Boko Haram terrorists had been long overdue as they had been behaving as if they were above the law all because some political elite in the north had been supporting their atrocities for selfish reasons.
“These criminals are behaving as if they have superior weapons to confront us, all because some politicians are collaborating with them for the reason best known to them. Now that we are in a state of war, we would put them where they rightly belong,” he said.
Another source, a military top brass, expressed disappointment over how some politicians in the north have become the spokesmen of the Boko Haram, an indication that they are working hand in hand with the terrorists: “They are even saying that, with the state of emergency, the amnesty is no more, all because they had wanted to line up their pockets with blood money. These people know the Boko Haram terrorists but they pretend as if they don’t. Now that we are smoking them out of their hideouts, they would be forced to call them to order.”
Since the military operations began, the Boko Haram terrorists have gone underground and all the towns and villages where they had taken control have been liberated. Troops have been ordered by the Defence Headquarters to intensify efforts and sustain the tempo.
Speaking on the air disaster that claimed the lives of two pilots in Niger, our source explained that the two were heading towards Mali for the air-to-ground operation and they had just left the Niger base of the Nigerian troops barely six to seven minutes when the disaster occurred. He noted the courage of the two and prayed for the bereaved to be comforted by God.
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