Britain, Preparing 150 Nigerian Soldiers Against Boko Haram

To help Nigeria meet the December deadline to
flush out Boko Haram in the North-east, Britain is training 150 Nigerian soldiers.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, disclosed this yesterday after opening a week-long British Military Advisory and Training Team facilitated  command and leadership seminar for 150 Warrant Officers and senior Non-commissioned Officers of the Nigerian Army, at Jaji Military Cantonment, Kaduna. Buratai said he and other security chiefs were doing everything possible to send insurgents packing before the December deadline expires.

Represented by Commander, Infantry Corps, Major-General Sanusi Muazu, the COAS noted that there could not be a professionally responsive Nigerian Army without an equally effective Warrant Officers’ and Senior Non-commissioned Officers’ cadre, hence the need for the training which is targeted at the cadre of the force, a link between the officers and soldiers.

Meanwhile, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Tunde Ogunsakin said yesterday that Boko Haram could be more dangerous now because of the military onslaught which has depleted its membership.

Addressing officers and men in Maiduguri, Borno State yesterday during a familiarization tour of the area, Ogunsakin, who is in charge of Borno, Yobe and Bauchi Police Commands, said the insurgents though “depleted and fleeing,” should be taken more seriously than before, adding that the insurgents were “like wounded lions dangerous to people’s lives and property.”

“Recent happenings have shown that just like wounded lions, the insurgents are deadlier and more dangerous than in the past. This is a battle that our gallant police officers are ready for and definitely are winning,” he stated.