The Chief of Defence of Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, has charged members of the Joint Task Force to observe the rules of engagement as the battle to dislodge insurgents in the northern part of the country rages on.
Ibrahim also commended the troops participating in the operation for demonstrating a high level of professionalism in the operations that routed terrorists from some camps in Borno State and other states of the federation.
Speaking in a message delivered to the troops by a Defence Headquarters Operational Assessment Team, led by Major General Lawrence Ngubane, the Chief of Defence Staff said the feat performed by the soldiers was a major achievement in the process of restoring normalcy to communities that have been held captive by terrorists activities.
His words: “Troops must exhibit high standard of commitment and discipline in all steps taken during this operation. This is not an exercise but a real operation.
“Troops must not make themselves vulnerable.
“Those who carry arms against the state and citizens are the ones we are fighting against.”
The CDS said he was certain that the mission to defeat the terror in record time would be accomplished considering the superiority of the troops in terms of training and the backing of Nigerians.
He expressed delight that no civilian casualty was recorded in the process.
The CDS said the progress recorded in the operation so far was a source of pride to the military and all Nigerians.
Admiral Ibrahim therefore enjoined them to continue to adhere strictly to the Rules of Engagement and all codes of conduct stipulated for the operations.
According to him, the whole exercise was a major test case on the capacity of the security forces to manage the nation’s security issues as mandated by the Commander-in-Chief, President Goodluck Jonathan.
He also expressed a firm belief that the security agencies in Nigeria were capable of discharging their task of defending the nation’s territorial integrity professionally.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
