The Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Abdulwahab Eyitayo has stated that there is no ambiguity concerning the intent of the insurgents surrendering and so far over 8,000 of the Boko Haram Commanders, members and their families have surrendered to the Military authorities in the North East Theatre.
General Eyitayo made this known in his remarks at a demonstration of the Legion MRAP and Counter Ambush Drill for the journalist on a tour of the North East Theatre of Operations.
The demonstration which was organised for the tour by the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri was witnessed by Defence correspondents and some of the Generals at the Theatre Command.
The 7 DIV GOC disclosed that since the unprecedented mass surrendering to troops began in June 2021, the military has so far received, profiled and processed over 8,000 Boko Haram Commanders, fighters and their family members .
While addressing the reporters on the media tour organised by the Directorate of Army Public Relations, Army Headquarters, Abuja, General Ehitayo said “You have physically been to the ground and you saw for yourself that they are genuine but the circumstances that lead to their surrendering may be debatable that you will come to find out as events unfold, but we can tell you now authoritatively that over 8,000 comprising of families children are all with us.
“And I say the intention to surrender is genuine because every human endeavour is surrounded by the desire to cater for family, if they are not ready to surrender I don’t think they would bring their families to mingle with us,” said the 7 Div GOC
He added that in spite of everything, the military is not leaving anything to chance and that proper profiling of those who surrendered are being conducted to separate them based on their extent of involvement in the killings and destructions that took place in the region.
The GOC maintained that what the Army is doing in accepting the surrender of the fighters is in line with extant dictates of the law of armed conflicts and Geneva Conventions which Nigeria is a signatory to.
On the demonstration of the MRAP, the Acting GOC said, it would have been held on the realities of the camp but for the safety of the journalists, it was held within the Barracks.
The MRAP was inducted into the anti-terror war and is a full-package armoured vehicle that has a proven battle record around the world. The demonstration witnessed by journalists was a re-enactment of how troops can overpower, kill and recover weapons of adversaries who ambushed them.
The 7 Division
The GOC explained that the entire area called Theatre Command is the entire stretch of the 7 Division which cuts across three states but because of the insurgency, they had to put part of it under the care of some other people to appreciate the number of logistics and men that are under command that is why we talk of the Theatre.
“And so 7 Division has been designated sector 1, there is also sector 2 with headquarters at Damaturu, Sector 3 with headquarters at Mongonu, what we do here is to train, fight and our motto is Doggedness and Boldness” said the GOC.
Nnenna.O
