Use of IEDs, sabotage by informants hampering victory against terrorists – CDS

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has said that the increasing use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by terrorists, logistics supplies, as well as the support provided to them by informants, are significant obstacles in the fight against terrorism in the country.

He described informants and logistics supplies to terrorists as oxygen to terrorism and insurgency that must be cut off to end the menace.

General Musa stated this on Tuesday, November 26, at a two-day Security and Justice Symposium organized by the National Counter-terrorism Centre (NCTC), Abuja.

The CDS said the country’s security challenges could better be addressed by ensuring that every citizen has a sense of belonging.

He said: “All the challenges we are facing today have to do with justice, securing peace, ensuring justice, protection, conduct, and accountability. There will not be peace if there is no fairness, equity, and justice anywhere in any society. So I’m happy this has been brought here, and I’m sure the discussions will bring out the relevance of these issues that we will tackle.

He said “Nigeria is going through so many challenges, and I feel we will be able to address this if everybody feels a sense of belonging, a lot of the security challenges we are having, I am sure, will go down.

“For us in the Armed Forces during our operations, the challenges we are facing, IEDs. IEDs have been the major challenge since the beginning of the insurgency. So we are looking at aspects of how we handle this, what solutions, what new things can we do.

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“Because you have to be creative. To fight this insurgency, you have to be creative and innovative every day. Because they are not relenting.

“The Issue of informants. We have to look at how we tackle this issue of informants. Because these are the people who have created the issue.

“Those supporting the terrorists by giving them logistics, we have to look for the oxygen. Where is the funding? How are they getting the logistics across? As the theater commander in the Northeast, we found out that if we are able to deny them this logistics, this oxygen, they will not survive. We did that, and that’s why you have almost 200,000 that have surrendered.

“So, I think if we replicate that all over, we will have very good results. It is also very important that we work together as a team. All security agencies.

General Musa emphasized the need for all of society approach to end terrorism and violent extremism in the country.

He said “We cannot do it alone without the public. So the citizens must be sensitized, and that comes about the issue of strategic communication.”