Nigerian
military high command on Friday met with the leadership of the United
States interdisciplinary team for assistance to Nigeria in the ongoing
war against terror especially in the North Eastern parts of the country.
A
statement issued Friday night by Chief of Defence Information, Major
General Chris Olukolade, said a major highlight of thr meeting was a
decision to stop disclosing operational information on the
counter-insurgency activities of the military.
At
the meeting, which was attended by Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief
Marshal Alex Badeh; Chief of Army Staff, General Kenneth Minimah; Chief
of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman O. Jibrin and Chief of Air Staff,
Air Vice Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amos, it was agreed that henceforth,
Nigeria will not be pressured into disclosing operational information on
efforts to locate the abducted Chibok girls.
While
discussing the process in the collaborative efforts to recover the
girls, “it was resolved that subsequent phases of the efforts will
feature continuous engagement among the partners.”
Quoting
the Coordinator of the National Information Centre (NIC), Mr. Mike
Omeri, who made the disclosure during the briefing on government efforts
to find the missing girls and general fight against insurgency in the
country the statement also stated efforts towards the safe return of the
abducted girls are ongoing.
“There
is the need for Nigerians, particularly the media, to recognise the
fact that the process of rescue could be hard and time-consuming,
particularly when both partners have agreed the issue of force is not
often the priority,” Omeri said.
“Insurgency
or terrorism has always taken time and if you check the history of
other countries like Sri Lanka and the United States of America, what we
should be concerned about is whether efforts are ongoing or not and if
we are doing our best. The Nigerian military will continue to do its
best. We do not intend to resign our commission; we will keep doing our
duty as a matter of duty to fatherland and be assured that someday, with
the cooperation of Nigerians, we should get to where we all desire,” he
explained.
The
Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) who also
spoke about the recent confiscation of newspapers in parts of the north
explained that “the military will not deliberately and without cause,
infringe on the freedom of the press.”
According
to him, “confiscation of newspapers has nothing to do with content or
operation of the media organisations or their personnel”, since “the
government and the military appreciate and, indeed, respects the role of
the media as indispensable partners in the on-going counter-insurgency
operations and the overall advancement of the country’s democratic
credentials.”
Commenting
on reports that some countries were reluctant to help Nigeria in the
fight against terrorism because of government’`s corruption record,
Omeri said in the past four years, Federal Government has done a lot to
combat corruption.
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