Advice: Embrace FG Dialogue Option Now Or Get Crushed, Minimah To Boko Haram

Boko Haram insurgents have been
advised to embrace the dialogue option
tabled by the Federal Government or get
crushed by the might of the Nigerian
Armed Forces, the Chief of Army Staff,
Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, said on
Wednesday.

Minimah gave the advice when he spoke
with newsmen shortly after an
unscheduled visit to Maiduguri, the
capital of Borno State and epicenter of the
war against the insurgents.
“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
his counterpart in the Air force, Air vice
Marshal Adesola Amosu.
The army chief, who described the visit as
“routine”, noted that it was aimed at
assessing first hand, 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 also called on Nigerians to trust the
capability of the military to bring an end
to the insurgency.
On his part, the Chief of Air Staff, AVM
Amosu, said the role of tactical air
support is not to destroy but to convince
the enemy to have a rethink of what they
are doing.
“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 added that the Nigerian Air Force was
to complement the role of the military in
the fight.