The 7 Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri on Sunday said the early morning explosion in the outskirt of Maiduguri emanated from routine testing of military equipment.

Speaking to newsmen on Sunday, spokesman of the Division, Col Tukur Gusau, urged residents not to panic.

“It is a routine test firing of our weapons to ensure that they are in a state of readiness.” (NAN)

The Nigerian Army also said on Sunday that no amount of distractions would deter it from ending terrorism in Nigeria by December.

Maj.-Gen. Yushau Abubakar, the Theater Commander, Operation ‘Lafiya Dole,’ gave this assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.

Abubakar was reacting to recent spate of suicide bombings by suspected insurgents in some parts of the country.

He pointed out that the bombings were aimed at diverting the attention of the military from achieving its target in the ongoing anti-terrorism war.

“I want to assure all that for every second that passes, we get more committed to fighting the insurgents; we cannot be deterred.

“We are doing as much as we could to ensure that we completely eradicate the insurgents as quickly as possible because we are aware of the timeline within which to complete the task.”

He said that the military had already gotten clues about those involved in the recent suicide bombings in Maiduguri.

“We searched the houses and certain items that we recovered at the vicinity, gave us some clues.”

He said that although investigations had commenced on the clues, it would take time before reaching a conclusion.

“Investigation on those that we suspect that are either participating or hiding, fueling or conniving with those that carried out those acts, is ongoing.

“They will be exposed in due course.”

He appealed to Nigerians to be security conscious to avoid future occurrence.

“The citizens need to know that security is their personal responsibility as individuals.

“They must be able to secure themselves and doing so means they need to be security conscious.

“Any suspicious movement within the environment should be reported to security agents immediately.”

Abubakar said that the military was working on a strategy that would enable individuals pass vital information to security agents without being noticed (NAN)

•Photo shows Gen. Buratai.

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