By Daniel Edu
The military high command has refuted claims that there has been a resurgence in terrorist attacks in the north-eastern part of the country.
Rather, it said the troops had been taking the fight to the camps of the terrorists hibernating in the region.
Speaking on this, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba noted that the terrorists attack soft targets in the region to create an impression of a resurgence.
He said, “There is no resurgence of insecurity in the North-East. We are taking the fight to them, we are rooting them out.
“What they now do is look for a soft target to create some form of insecurity so that it will make a sensation in the media. We are destroying and dismantling them.”
Also, speaking on what the military was doing to check the recruitment of children by the terrorists, Buba said the military would elevate another aspect of the counter-terrorism operation to stop that.
The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, had recently demanded an end to the recruitment of children by terrorists.
He expressed fear that Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists may continue tormenting the country if proper security steps were not taken to forestall the recruitment of young children into the terror groups.
But Buba assured that once the other lines of its operation were elevated it would address the issue.
He said, “On the recruitment of children, in a counter-insurgency operation, there are various lines of operations. Counter-insurgency is not only about the military killing the insurgents.
“There are various lines of operations, those lines are ongoing and will be elevated. When they are elevated, the will to fight will be neutralised and therefore there will be no recruitment. But if anyone crosses the line and picks up arms against us, I am sorry for them. “