The Defence Headquarters on Sunday said it had made the required adjustments to contain the desperation of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram.
Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen Chris Olukolade, said this in a telephone interview with our correspondent, in Abuja.
A member of the sect was said to have confessed that fighters from Cameroun, Chad, Niger and other African countries were involved in the ongoing battle between the sect and Special Forces.
Olukolade said the confession only confirmed the previous position of the military on the desperation of the insurgents.
He explained that military authorities had noted the recruitment of foreign fighters by the insurgents and had taken the requisite steps to defeat it and ensure the protection of Nigerians and the nation’s territorial integrity.
This, he said, was in line with the Presidential mandate on the declaration of a state of emergency in the North-Eastern part of the country.
The Defence spokesman said, “From the perspective of the Armed Forces, this only proves our earlier position on the desperation of the insurgents; the military
authorities have noted it, and have adjusted accordingly to it.
“Having discovered the new tricks of the insurgents in advancing their desperation, the military authorities have adjusted and directed appropriate responses to nip the trend in the bud and assert the security and protection of Nigerians as mandated by Mr. President through the state of emergency declaration.”
Shortly before the confession by the insurgent who was reportedly injured in an encounter with soldiers in Damboa, Maiduguri, in Borno State, on October 6, 2013, soldiers of the Special Operation Base of the 3 Division of the Nigerian Army had killed some suspected members of Boko Haram, 13 of whom were on Saturday confirmed to be Chadians.
A military source told our correspondent on Sunday that the corpses were identified to be foreigners going by their looks and body formation.
The source said that there were several bodies of foreigners killed in action in the Yobe confrontation, adding that the Boko Haram insurgency was not being carried out by Nigerians alone as Somalis, Algerians, Sudanese, Malians and citizens of other countries were recruited by the sect to fight the country.
The source added, “This fight is not being done by Nigerians alone. All along we have always been saying that. The confession is a substation of the previous position of security agencies that foreigners were being recruited to fight in the country.
“The reversal of the situation and the increased activities of the sect do not mean that the Army is relaxed.
“Previously, people were wondering that the terrorists were appearing to be very strong. What this proves is that the original fighters have gone for more arms and foreigners to fight. The public opinion then was that since they were substantially dealt with, how come that they are getting stronger.
“This is confirming that the new dimension the fight is taking only indicates that it is a new invasion. There was a lull, after that they went to recruit more.”
