The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, on Thursday said the military was in the final phase of wiping out terrorists from the North-East.

Olukolade said this at the just concluded media tour to Gwoza and other operational areas in the North-East.

“The tour is even beyond Gwoza and while we were at Gwoza, you possibly are aware that our troops had taken Yamkeke.

“And Bita any moment from now the operation there will be completed,” he said.

“So you see that the advance is still continuing and the tempo of the mission is high and we are really in the final phase of the mission,” Olukolade.

According to him, the tour is to confirm to media the level of atrocities committed by the terrorists before they vacated those areas.

He said the tour was to further confirm that life was returning to normalcy after the entry of troops.

Olukolade said that the media interaction with members of the community was indicative that the people were pleased with the security situation in the communities.

According to him, “What we should be doing is consolidating on the level of synergy in this mission; you can see that the coordination among the armed forces had really improved.

“And it is responsible for the successes of the mission lately and you also see that collaboration with other security agencies had made a lot of impact on the successes recorded.

“We should sustain it so that subsequently such incidents should not develop at all.”

Olukolade said the stabilisation of the environment was ongoing as well as ensuring that the military kept to the slogan of “never again that the Nigerian military tolerate this kind of situation.”

He, however, called on Nigerians for support and assured them that the military would not disappoint them.

Olukolade noted that what was left to be captured by the troops was minimal.

“The area left to be captured are very minimal and what is important now is the stabilisation of the territories taken back and the mopping up operations; cordon and search was ongoing,” he said.

Olukolade said the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) was put in place to guarantee the success of the mission.

He said that the task force had helped against the previous situation where the Nigerian Armed Forces swept them off and only for them to go regroup in other places.

Olukolade said it would be difficult for the terrorists to regroup, considering the involvement of the MNJTF which was specifically tasked to operate along the border.

“And they are there to ensure that there is no new breeding ground and escape route for the terrorists,” he said.

•Text courtesy of NAN. Photo shows Olukolade.

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