BANEX PLAZA SAGA: Attacks On military personnel, A Threat To National Security -DDMO. |

By Helen Udoh, Outlook Media ABUJA.

The Nigerian military has warned the civilian population against unprovoked attacks on its personnel,stating that such actions can lead to a threat to national security.

Major General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations, made this known during a bi-weekly press briefing on Thursday in Abuja, said that such attacks will no longer be tolerated any more.

General Edward Buba said that ,the unprovoked killings of 17 personnel in Okuama in Delta State, coupled with the recent assault of unarmed personnel in Banex Plaza in Abuja were worrisome and leaves much to be desired.

According to him, these occurrences are unhealthy for our national security, counter productive and amount to self sabotage.

He pointed out the issues at Banex Plaza, said that ,jungle justice is not the solution, either by personnel or civilians.

” If you harm one personnel in one area, another will be affected elsewhere, as the spirit of esprit de corps among troops is strong”.he said.

He urged civilians to respect and appreciate the contributions of military personnel, rather than resorting to violence against them.”

“Surely, it is no way to treat any human, certainly not a military personnel that places self in harms way to protect citizens or to safeguard the nation”.he said.

“The military has demonstrated high sense of discipline and professionalism in the face of the untoward attacks. Our professionalism must not be mistaken for weakness”.

“we need the support of people. We also hope that the people would equally realize that, they need the military to win the war to guarantee their safety”,he said.

“Accordingly, It goes is without saying that this must not repeat itself as it jeopardizes our common interest. If troops err, report them and the military justice system will address the matter.

“We are at war, and citizens must realize that they also have a responsibility by their actions and utterances to support troops to keep the morale and fighting spirit of troops at optimal at all times”.

He said that the military is comprised of diverse professionals, including doctors, nurses, engineers, lawyers, and media personnel, who are working to serve the nation.

“We all need each other in this country; troops are also Nigerians with brothers, sisters, and fathers among us. These attacks will put troops in the field at risk and degrade their morale.

“This is counterproductive and self-sabotaging. If civilians encounter personnel acting intolerably, they can report it to the military for proper investigation and justice,” he said.

According to him”Troops are admirably making progress in the ongoing counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations across the country and will continue until the terrorist are completely decimated. The progress made is through the cumulative effort of killing the terrorist leaders, commanders and combatants,as well as, taking away their most important assets such as logistics, administrative and fighting capabilities. These all combine to destroy the will to fight of the terrorist and their cohorts.

Troops have continued to receive tremendous institutional support and are receiving increasing popular support in the conduct of operations. Indeed, The level of troops stamina and commitment to completely destroying the terrorist remains unwavering.

During the month of May the potency of the terrorists was largely degraded with 624 Terrorist neutralized, 1,051 terrorists including their logistic suppliers and informants arrested, while 563 hostages were rescued. Additionally, troops recovered troops recovered 707 assorted weapons, 16,487 assorted ammunitions and denied the oil theft of an estimated sum over #700 Mill (N705,836,036.00) only.

Breakdown for the month of May 24 includes and is not limited to the following: 411 AK47 rifles, 234 locally fabricated guns, 43 pump action guns, 231 dane guns, 10,782 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 4,310 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 1,623 rounds 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 1,023 rounds of 511 rounds of 9mm and 2,100 live cartridges.

Others are 4,871,470 litres of stolen crude oil, 931,416 litres of illegally refined AGO and 4,480 litres of PMS amongst other item.

The joint operational environment coupled the synergy with other security and intelligence agencies greatly assisted in the optimal performance of troops in the conduct of operations.

Meanwhile, the unprovoked killings of 17 personnel in Okuama in Delta State, coupled with the recent assault of unarmed personnel in Banex Plaza in Abuja is worrisome and leaves much to be desired. These occurrences are unhealthy for our national security, counter productive and amount to self sabotage.

Surely, it is no way to treat any human, certainly not a military personnel that places self in harms way to protect citizens or to safeguard the nation. The military has demonstrated high sense of discipline and professionalism in the face of the untoward attacks. Our professionalism must not be mistaken for weakness.

Indeed, we know that to win this war, we needs the support of people. We also hope that the people would equally realize that, they need the military to win the war to guarantee their safety.

Accordingly, It goes is without saying that this must not repeat itself as it jeopardizes our common interest. If troops err, report them and the military justice system will address the matter. We are at war, and citizens must realize that they also have a responsibility by their actions and utterances to support troops to keep the morale and fighting spirit of troops at optimal at all times.

During otherwise is unpatriotic and amounts to self sabotage. Overall, we would continue to fight until the terrorists is defeated on the battlefield and help our nation flourish again.

The Nigeria military high command has warned the civilian population against unprovoked attacks on its personnel,stating that such actions can lead to a threat to national security.