Army opens 20 super camps to check terrorism in North East

• MNJTF, ATF kill insurgents, destroy arms, logistics
The Nigerian Army has opened 20 Super Camps in the North East to finally nail insurgency and terrorists’ attacks on troops locations and communities, as well as take the fight to terrorists’ hideouts in the Lake Chad region.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, disclosed this yesterday during the opening of the second and third quarters COAS Conference at the Command Officers Mess, Abuja.He noted that more of the Super Camps would be established to ensure that the war on terror, armed banditry, kidnapping and other deadly security challenges in the country are nipped in the bud.

“The aim of the Super Camps concept is to ensure higher capacity for swift mobility to take on the adversary, take the fight to them and deny terrorists, bandits and kidnappers the freedom of action,” he said.

In this regard, the COAS said more troops, platforms and technical equipment like the Mines Resistant Armour Vehicles (MRAVs) have been deployed to support the Super Camps concept, adding that the efforts were already yielding positive results.

Specifically, he disclosed that seven units of MRAVs produced by PROFORCE in conjunction with the Nigerian Army has been deployed to the theater of operation in the North East, adding that more of such equipment would be deployed in due course.

To further energize the Super Camps with technical equipment, the Army Chief said the erstwhile Nigerian Army Workshop and the Nigerian Army vehicle plant have been merged as the Nigerian Army Command Engineering Depot to combine and come out with more mobility equipment for troops.

Also, Buratai said research and educational institutions of the Nigerian Army have been tasked to develop and produce anti-IEDs equipment to checkmate recurring incidents of troops ambush and other attacks.

Meanwhile, troops of Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in coordinated air raid by Air Task force (ATF) killed several Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in Tumbum Rego of Borno State.

The weekend operations in the Lake Chad region, also led to the destruction of terrorists’ arms, ammunition and logistics.MNJTF Spokesman, Col. Timothy Antigha, in a statement in Maiduguri said, “The equipment of the ISWAP terrorists, comprising rifles, ammunition and logistics were also destroyed in the five-hour operations on shores of lake.”

He noted that the terrorists were preparing to launch an offensive on troops’ location when they were attacked, adding: “Battle damage assessment has indicated that the air interdiction had a devastating impact, as pockets of ISWAP build up and logistics hidden under tree canopies in Tumbum Rego were also destroyed.“The ISWAP assets in Mallam Zuberu and Alagarno were also targeted and destroyed in the coordinated ground and aerial operations. Similarly, ground troops identified and defused improvised explosive devices planted by ISWAP operatives in Layi Koura area of Nguigmi in Niger Republic.”