The Minister of Defense, Gen. Christopher Musa (Rtd), has charged the troops of North East Joint Taskforce, also known as Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) to intensify offensive actions against the Boko Haram insurgents across the region.
Musa gave the charge during a courtesy visit to the taskforce’s headquarters in Maiduguri, Borno state, on Tuesday.
The Minister, in his address reiterated that the troops’ mission is to find and eliminate Boko Haram terrorists in their respective area of deployment.
He charged them not to wait for order from anyone before neutralising the insrugents once sighted.
“Your mission here is to go and look for Boko Haram and kill them.
“You don’t have to wait for any order from anybody. Any Boko Haram that you find out, it is your duty wherever you are deployed to take them down.” Musa said in a video of the address shared on X on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Minister’s visit, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the North East Joint Task Force Media Information Officer, Lt. Col Sani Uba, was aimed at appraising ongoing operations, reinforcing the Federal Government’s commitment to the fight against terrorism, and engaging key stakeholders in the Theatre.
The visit commenced with a courtesy call on the Shehu of Borno at his palace, where the Musa, alongside the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, paid homage to the revered traditional ruler before proceeding to the Borno State Government House.
They were received by the Deputy Governor who conveyed the appreciation of the Government and people of Borno State for the continued sacrifices of troops and the Federal Government’s support.
At Headquarters OPHK, the Ministers received a comprehensive operational brief from the Theatre Commander, Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, who outlined recent operational activities across the Theatre.
The Theatre Commander, according to Sani, highlighted significant milestones recorded through sustained offensive-defensive operations.
This included the neutralisation of over 280 terrorist elements during the Ramadan period, disruption of their logistics networks, and the rescue of abducted civilians.
He further presented future operational projections and assured the Ministers of the unwavering commitment, high morale, and determination of troops to decisively defeat terrorism in the North East.
