Boko Haram: Military set to move command centre to Maiduguri

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI WITH SERVICE CHIEFS DURING A MEETING
AT THE DEFENCE GUEST HOUSE IN ABUJA ON TUESDAY

The Military High Command is set to move its command centre to Maiduguri, Borno State in compliance with the presidential directive.

Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, who spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting between the service chiefs and President Muhammadu Buhari said the meeting provided the service chiefs an opportunity to brief the Commander in Chief on the general security situation in the country. According to the Naval Chief, the directive by the Commander-in-Chief that the Command Centre of the military be moved to Maiduguri must  be obeyed with dispatch.

He said: “Since he was inaugurated as our commander-in-chief, this is the first time that we are formally meeting him to give general security briefing of the country. We have been able to provide insights into the security situation of Nigeria.

“Specifically on Boko Haram, with the level of successes being recorded, we want to maintain the tempo and sustain it  until they are routed out.

“On the command centre, we will go back and work on it. Soon it will be carried out, it is a Presidential directive, it must be carried out, and we must do that as quickly as possible.”

The Chief of Naval Staff appealed to Nigerians to continue to provide intelligence to the military to enhance the success of the war against Boko Haram.

He said: “All Nigerians should continue to support the military and provide us with the needed intelligence. Their movements and suspicious movement should be reported to the police, of course the police will make that available to us. You know as we continue to put pressure on them, in the Sambisa area, they will try to run away from there and then create further problems, using improvised explosives devices.

“Like I told you, we are sustaining the tempo and the successes we have recoded so far, we want to continue to maintain that and if there is any suggested solutions that requires amendments or alteration of what we’re doing, why not? Most especially the more they give us the intelligence, the better.”

The service chiefs, who arrived at the Defence House a few minutes to noon, immediately went into the meeting with the President.

The National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) had arrived the Defence House few minutes before the service chiefs.

The Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff as well as the Inspector General of Police were led into the meeting by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh.

It was gathered that the service chiefs briefed President Buhari on the fight against Boko Haram and also provided talking points for him as he meets with the Presidents of Niger and Chad respectively today and tomorrow.