Asari Dokubo
Asari-Dokubo’s ranting, laughable – Defence Headquarters
The Defence Headquarters has described the comment of former Niger Delta militant, Asari Dokubo, that he has the capability of shooting diwn a military helicopter hovering of his residence as a ranting and laughable.
The military, which stated that it chose not to go after such individuals to avoid being accused of acting “undemocratically,” said there are security agencies saddled with such responsilities.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, spoke in Abuja while responding to a recent report about Asari-Dokubo’s alleged threat to shoot down a military helicopter that had reportedly hovered around his residence.
Buba challenged Asari-Dokubi to confront soldiers on the battlefield if he was bold enough.
He said about “the comment by an individual that he can shoot down military helicopters is laughable. And I am about to laugh at that. We are in a democracy, and we are professionals. Of course, we cannot just, based on somebody’s comments, begin to take certain actions. They would accuse the military of being undemocratic.
“The military is not the only security force or department in the country. There are other security agencies that have a constitutional role to play in handling such issues.
“I tell you that he doesn’t have that capability, but I will allow the security forces responsible for such matters to take it up. As for us, come to the battlefield, and we’ll take you out. He should come to the battlefield and see whether we can react or not.”
Buba, whi insisted that the military’s remained focused, said, “For us, the enemy we fight are the terrorists. Some may choose to call them different names in the different theatres of operations where they exist. In the North-West and North-East, some will say terrorists; some may prefer to call them bandits.
“I tell you, they are all terrorists, and that is what we see. Troops are making significant progress. As I mentioned earlier, we prioritise eliminating terrorist leadership, and we have been doing just that. In the last three quarters, we have taken out over 300 terrorist commanders, not to mention their foot soldiers.
“Our aim is to diminish their fighting capabilities and damage their military capabilities, which we have been successfully doing. As indicated in the brief you received, you can see how many weapons and ammunition we have recovered.”
According to him, a terrorist kingpin in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was killed in an operation conducted during the week, adding that a total of 165 terrorists were killed, and 238 suspects were arrested.
“Our operations have destroyed a substantial part of the combat capacity of these terror groups and their leadership. For instance, one of the notorious terrorist commanders in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was eliminated from the battlefield during the week. Troops are, therefore, increasingly making significant strides across all theatres of operations.
“During the week under review, troops neutralised 165 terrorists, arrested 238 persons, and rescued 188 kidnapped victims,” he said.
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