A patriotic organisation operating under the auspices of The Unity Advocacy Group, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s Eid-el Fitr message on the receding insecurity in parts of the country, was an indication that the Armed Forces of Nigeria was winning war against non-state actors.
Recall that the President had declared that counterinsurgency,and other operations against enemies of state, will soon end, with victory on the side of the State.
“The fight has been long and hard. Final victory is within sight. Boko Haram and its offshoots’ final embers are now fading.
“Last month, the leader of ISWAP was killed in an airstrike. Since the New Year, thousands of fighters have surrendered to enter rehabilitation programmes. The territories they used to occupy are now seeing the return of those who were forced to flee their barbarity. Normality is finally beginning to return to the Northeast. It is a long process. Yet it is one we are, together, now embarking upon.
“With the designation of bandit groups as terrorists, the challenges of banditry and kidnapping are being tackled differently in the North-western and North Central states where the latest military acquisitions and the Armed Forces are being fanned out across the region to thwart acts of terror.
“The administration is equally getting impressive reports of the special operations to curb crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering in the South-South, with millions of illegally refined products being impounded and illegal refineries destroyed.
“While we are making progress cleaning the environment, some evil people are busy causing more pollution and destruction.
‘‘In response to the disturbing rise in criminal attacks targeting law enforcement and public facilities in the South East, concerted military operations to rid the region of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) elements have, in recent weeks, led to the overrunning of IPOB/ESN bases,” President Buhari had said.
Accordingly, convener of UAG, Ifeanyi Aigbedion, in a statement, enjoined citizens to continue to support the AFN under the leadership of General LEO Irabor.
He said: “We urge Nigerians to support the Armed Forces of Nigeria who continue to make sacrifices for the good of our country especially now that we are approaching the 2023 General Election.”
