The Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh has vowed that the Nigerian military will not relent in killing terrorists until it rids the country of insurgency. He added that the military would not sit back and watch Boko Haram insurgents split and destroy the country.
The Defence Chief, who spoke in Abuja when a coalition of civil society group paid solidarity visit on Defence Headquarters, DHQ, said criticism of the military by Boko Haram sympathizers under war situation was meant to weaken operations and give the enemies an edge over troops in order to destroy the nation.
Admitting that the military was under pressure, Badeh noted that soldiers in developed countries were doing worse things than what the Nigerian Army was being accused of.
Recall that Amnesty International had accused the Nigerian military and some of its officers, including Badeh, of war crimes since the war against Boko Haram insurgency began and were pilling pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to probe them.
But the CDS, who said the military would not be deterred by these antics from their enemies, assured that the current war was not different from the military engagements during the country’s civil war.
Noting the Nigerian armed forces fought in the 1960s to keep the country one, he said: “One thing the armed forces are doing is that we are not deterred by criticism. In war, nothing is equal and people behave differently under pressure.
“And war is the worst form of pressure any normal human being can ever face. So, if there are one or two infractions out there at the venue of war, it is normal. It happens in every army, the most developed armies had committed worst crimes,” he said, adding that the military would wait for investigation of the Amnesty report on crimes allegedly committed by some officers.
He said the armed forces were very busy fighting the war that would keep Nigeria intact, than pay attention to criticisms aimed at weakening the ongoing operation.
“Our duty and obligation is to make sure we return this country to normalcy; that is our pledge.
“And civil society groups, you know that you are the conscience of the nation and we urge you not to rest on your oars,” Badeh stated.
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