Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, the Chief of Army Staff (CAS), on Wednesday, advised Boko Haram insurgents to embrace dialogue now or get crushed by the military.
Minimah gave the advice when he spoke with newsmen shortly after an unscheduled visit to Maiduguri.
“The dialogue table is still open, or else the federal might is available to the armed forces to crush the insurgency,’’ he stressed.
Minimah was accompanied on the visit by the Chief of Air Staff, Air vice Marshal Adesola Amosu.
He explained that the visit was aimed at assessing the condition of troops on ground as well as boosting their morale in the fight against the insurgents.
“We are here on routine visit to assess the condition of our troops, to visit the injured and the wounded in the hospital,’’ Minimah said.
He urged Nigerians to trust the capability of the military to bring an end to the insurgency.
On his part, the Chief of Air Staff, AVM Adesola Amosu, said the role of air power is not to destroy but to convince the enemy of the second option available.
“Essentially, we are here to harass the enemy and to convince them that they need to come either to the table or drop their guns’’, Amosu said.
He expressed satisfaction with the situation on ground.
“We are happy with the morale of soldiers on the field, we are also happy about the damage we have already inflicted on the insurgents.
“The soldiers are in high spirit. I am sure our coming today has further lifted them up’’, Amosu said.
He said the Nigerian Air Force was to complement the role of the military in the fight.
Source: Punch
