By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja – An advocacy group, Concerned Northerners for Peace and Development, has urged residents to continue to support ongoing military operations geared towards restoration of peace and stability in the region.
The group made the call in a statement by the Convener, Abdulazeez Lamido and Secretary, Agnes Bitrus, on Tuesday.
They said that the efforts of the military to restore normalcy in the region has been yielding positive results.
The group expressed confidence that the Armed Forces would ensure that total peace was restored not only in the North East, but the whole of the North.
“We remember that for the first time in several years, our people in the North East celebrated Christmas with fanfare in 2021.
“As we approach the 2022 Christmas, support and cooperation with the armed forces is required to sustain what is being done.
“Just recently, troops of 151 Task Force Battalion, Operations Hadin Kai in Banki arrested eight members of the youth vigilante group, known as Civilian JTF accused of aiding activities of Boko Haram.
“They were said to be supplying logistics and welfare items to the terrorist group.
“Before their arrest, the suspects actively operated as ‘terrorists intelligence’ and were involved in supplying different items including drugs, fuel, mosquito nets, noodles, among other items to terrorists,” they said.
The group recalled that some terrorists of the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP), were vanquished after the military dropped seven bombs at their position in Damboa Local Government of Borno.
According to them, troops of Operation Forest Sanity also neutralised about four bandits during a clearance operations in identified hideouts around Tsohon Gayan area of Kaduna State.
They urged the terrorists to lay down their arms for peace to reign in the region, saying the military under Gen. Lucky Irabor had shown capacity and determination to tackle the security challenges.
“We urge the insurgents to follow the example of the 49 fighters of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād terrorist group, including two Commanders, Ba’a Usman (Munzir) and Alhaji Ari,(Nakib) who surrendered to the Troops of Operation Hadin Kai in Damboa on Nov. 20.
“No fewer than 90,000 insurgents comprising combatants and non-combatants and their families have so far surrendered to the Nigerian troops as a result of the kinetic and non-kinetic approaches,” the group added. (NAN)
