The Chief of Army Staff, General Kenneth Minimah yesterday said that all territories lost to the Boko Haram insurgents will be recovered soon.
Minimah also explained that the loss of some territories, including Mubi in Adamawa State to Boko Haram, was caused by a setback recorded by the Nigerian Army in Baza community.
Though he failed to disclose the nature of the setback, Minimah assured Nigerians that the military was working hard to ensure that the captured territories were recovered very soon.
The army chief stated this while responding to questions from journalists after a closed-door meeting with the Senate Committee on Army and Defence at the National Assembly yesterday.
“We had a setback in Baza that resulted in the loss of territories up to Mubi and as painful as it is, we are working hard to reclaim those territories.
“Very soon, we will recover the territories and indeed other territories that the insurgents have taken. I want to continue to rekindle the confidence of Nigerians and particularly the ordinary Nigerians who have suffered the pains of the insurgency.
“The Nigerian Army will continue to do its best and strive to win this war and reclaim the lost territories”, Minimah said.
The chairman of the committee, Senator George Sekibo, said the meeting found that though a few mistakes might have been made by the military officers in the course of fighting the insurgents, the mistakes would be corrected and the captured territories recovered.
“We have deliberated on security issues affecting our country and the Chief of Army Staff has also responded to all the issues that were raised before him.
“As a committee, we have come to find out or have an opinion that the Nigerian army is doing well. There are areas we may have some setbacks because this insurgency is not a conventional warfare. Because it is not conventional, a few mistakes may have been made here and there and the issue is that it will be corrected.
“We have been assured that within a very short period, some of the territories that were taken by the insurgents will be recovered. It will not go worse than what it is now. We believe that from the charge we have given to them, from tomorrow and perhaps in the next couple of weeks, we are going to have better results”, Sekibo said.
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