The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has described as false the reports that Niger Republic has withdrawn from the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF remains a critical regional security collaboration, so efforts must be made to prevent any member state from leaving.
The military high command who spoke through the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye, in Abuja, who shed more light, explained that, MNJTF was formed in 1994 by countries of the Lake Chard Commission to fight terrorism and other transborder crimes across the member states.
” The countries are Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, and Benin Republic”.
Kangye noted that, Niger’s withdrawal from the Joint Task Force would have serious security implications on the efforts against terrorism and other common security threats.
According to him, “When you hear dem say”, it means the information lacks credibility. I think this area has been a subject of discourse for the past few months, especially when some members of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decided to form an alliance and attempted to exit ECOWAS”.
” The Multinational Joint Task Force was established by the Lake Chad Commission countries to address their common security concerns”. He stressed
“Nigeria has been making significant efforts to ensure the task force is sustained. bu, if for any reason a member decides to pull out, the implications will be substantial. The synergy we are supposed to enjoy may no longer be there”. He stated
“It is not in our interest for any country to leave because whatever affects them also affects us. If a country withdraws, it creates a gap in effort and reduces the strength of the contingent from that country.
“Therefore, efforts must be made to prevent such a situation from happening. We will continue to examine the situation, and as we always do, we will provide further briefings when necessary. ”
The military high command, therefore, assured Nigerians that security forces remain focused on apprehending bandit and terrorists leaders, including Bello Turji.
He dismissed claims in some quarters that the military had downscaled operations against herdsmen, terrorists and cattle rustlers among others, hence giving room for resurgence of the security threats which had hinter to being subdued.
Kangye said: “Then on the aspect of whether the troops are not, or they have downscaled their operations against cattle rustlers and terrorists leaders.
“No. Like I read out, troops intercepted some trucks loaded with cows, and they recovered them, and they are still on the hunt for high-value terrorists. I have also read out the report for the quarter, some high-value terrorists that were eliminated during the quarter.
Kangye, “I have mentioned their names. So as for Bello Truji, it is just a matter of time, an appointment will be made with him by his maker.”
On Soldiers wounded during operations,
Kangye disagreed with the allegations saying that they are well taken care of as senior officers do have launch with them especially at festive periods and provide free housing for wounded soldiers who may not be able to return to active service, ” expressing dismay that, “Some of the narratives are just to discredit the effort of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, and we say no to it “.
“And I can also tell you that the services headquarters, the Armed Forces of Nigeria, is taking good care of the sick and wounded. Some of them that require medical evacuation abroad are taken abroad for medical treatment. Some went to Egypt, some went to Turkey, I remember, some are in India.
The defence spokesman warned against the spread of false information, particularly regarding religious crises in northern Nigeria.
Kangye appealed to Journalists and members of the public to verify claims before sharing them, stressing that, ” misleading narratives could be weaponized to create unrest”.
” He reminded everyone that, “This is an AI-dominated information age. False narratives can be manipulated to create confusion. However, we will investigate all credible reports and take appropriate action,” he assured.
