The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, has formally reacted to the threat, last Saturday, by former former Niger Delta militant, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, to shoot down military and police helicopters allegedly hoovering over his home in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The military high command said it ignored the threat by the former warlord and refused to go after him to avoid being accused of acting “undemocratically.”
Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, disclosed this while speaking to journalists in Abuja.
The DHQ spokesman described Asari-Dokubo’s outburst as laughable, challenging him to confront soldiers on the battlefield if he was bold enough.
“Now, the comment by an individual that he can shoot down military helicopters is laughable,” Buba mocked Dokubo. “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.”
Rather than waste precious time on side irritations and irritants, Buba said that the military’s focus is firmly fixed on combating terrorists across various theatres of operations in the country.
“For us, the enemy we fight are the terrorists,” Buba continued. “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.”
The DHQ Media Director also informed that a terrorist kingpin in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was neutralised during an operation conducted earlier in the week.
Buba also revealed that 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,” he said. “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.”
In a related development, Buba also revealed that troops also arrested 35 suspected oil thieves in the Niger Delta and thwarted the theft of an estimated sum of N688,125,150.00.
Buba’s words: “Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed two dugout pits, 58 boats, and 39 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 13 cooking ovens, 35 drums, one motorcycle, one tricycle, four speed boats, 13 vehicles, and 65 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 789,200 litres of stolen crude oil and 64,950 litres of illegally refined AGO.”
Buba also noted that troops recovered 153 assorted weapons and 2,182 rounds of assorted ammunition.
The breakdown, according to him, includes 81 AK-47 rifles, 23 fabricated rifles, 27 Dane guns, 13 pump-action guns, five locally-made pistols, three revolver pistols, 30 AK-47 magazines, and one bayonet.
Other items recovered include “1,561 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 278 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, 70 rounds of 50mm ammunition, 72 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 87 live cartridges, one Baofeng radio, 19 vehicles, 21 motorcycles, 45 mobile phones, and the sum of N64,100.00, among other items.”