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The Nigerian Army said on Sunday that no amount of distractions would deter it from ending terrorism in Nigeria by December. It would be recalled that the president of the federal republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, gave the Nigerian military 3 months ultimatum to crush boko haram. It would also be recalled that the Nigerian army was reported to have recaptured many of the territories where boko haram formerly held sway. They had destroyed many weapon making sites owned by the insurgents and killed many of the insurgents, while some other ones had been arrested.

It however was greeted by surprise by Nigerians, the news that boko haram carried out series of bombing attacks in divers places in Nigeria, including the Federal capital territory, Abuja, which left many people dead and many others wounded. Many wondered how boko haram could still carry out such attacks when the Nigerian military claimed they had dismantled the insurgents considerably. Many Nigerians found themselves at a crossroad on whom to believe. However, the Nigerian army had come out to say they are focused on defeating the insurgents and the task would be completed before the end of this year.

Theater Commander, Operation “Lafiya Dole,” Maj.-Gen. Yushau Abubakar, gave this assurance while speaking with newsmen in Maiduguri. Abubakar was reacting to recent spate of suicide bombings by suspected insurgents in some parts of the country, which had left many dead and scores wounded. 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. He insisted this bombings do not indicate a stronger insurgent as being perceived by many Nigerians, but a complete distraction.

“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.

He said 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,” Abubakar said. He said 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,” Abubakar assured.

 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,” he advised.

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