Nigerian army warns religious leaders to step up security measures as festive period approaches
- The Nigerian army has warned residents of the north-east to be more security conscious
- It said that the weakened Boko Haram insurgents have resulted to employing s*uicide bombers and IEDs to cause destruction
- The army encouraged community and religious leaders to set up neighborhood watch, especially during the festive period
The Nigerian Army has warned residents in the northeastern part of the country to beware of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ordnances planted around the region.
According to statement by Onyema Nwachukwu, spokesman of operation Lafiya Dole theatre command, the army charged citizens to be more security conscious to avert possible attacks from the Boko Haram insurgent group, the Cable reports.
The army said while the Boko Haram insurgents have been weakened, they have resulted to employing s*uicide bombers and IEDs to cause destruction.
The statement read in part: “This is undoubtedly a devious tactics to portray seeming invincibility by taking advantage of the indifferent attitude of some members of the public.
“This has unduly exposed and presented soft targets to the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT), which ordinarily, could have been prevented, if only members of the public within the theatre of operation would complement the efforts of the security agencies by being a little more vigilant and conscious of their environment.
“It has also been observed that the BHT IED campaign has left several unexploded ordnances (UXO) and IEDs dotted around the north-east theatre of operation, which are harmful to unsuspecting members of the public while going about their routine activities.”
The statement urged the people to complement the efforts of the army and the police by being conscious of “strange objects of metallic nature and not to fiddle with such objects.”
“Most places of worship have been found to exhibit similar deficiency and have lowered their guard, thereby exposing themselves to otherwise preventable attacks,” the statement read.
PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
“With the Yuletide around the corner, several social and religious gathering will be inevitable, therefore, members of the public are implored to be more vigilant and places of worship and other forms of social gatherings are advised to emplace security checks and measures in their facilities.
“Paramount rulers, village heads and spiritual leaders are enjoined to sensitize their respective subjects and members on these BHT schematics to prevent infiltration and any untoward occurrence.
“They are also urged to encourage neighborhood watch efforts in their communities.”
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the Nigerian army recorded another major success in the fight against insurgency in the northeastern part of the country as its troops launched an attack against the Boko Haram terrorists in the Lake Chad basin.
A statement by Colonel Timothy Antigha, the deputy director of public relations of the 8 division Nigerian army, revealed that the success was in continuation of Operation Deep Punch 2, designed to smoke out Boko Haram terrorists inhabiting remote islands in Lake Chad basin lying within Nigerian territory.
Boko Haram abducted my husband and the Gov't forgot about him - on NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng