The arrest of leader of the Autopilot wing of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and promoter of Biafra Liberation Army (BLA), Simon Ekpa by the government of Finland has greatly reduced the tension in the South East region, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa said on Tuesday.
General Musa noted that the development, alongside the ongoing Operation Udoka, which was established to flush banditry and end the sit-at-home situation in the region by Defence Headquarters, is restoring peace in the region.
Speaking when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Defence to defend the 2025 budget, General Musa said the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) is working with the people to ensure stability in the region.
According to the CDS: “With the arrest of Simon Ekpa, it has greatly reduced the tension. Also, with Operation Udoka, we’re also doing that, picking up most of the leadership that are there, taking them out, and then making sure that the place is peaceful.
“The sit-at-home on Mondays is gradually diminishing. We’re also working with the political leaders there because we understand, like I said always, we need to have the local support because without it, it’s difficult. You know, the terrain is very challenging, so we need to work together. It is improving.”
Stating that the the last holiday period was very peaceful because the military was very proactive, General Musa said the military is committed to non-kinetic measures of addressing the security problem and this was yielding positive results.
Said he: “We had some intelligence and worked ahead to ensure that everywhere was kept peaceful. That has happened and we intend to do that and continue to do more. What we try to encourage is synergy in our operations.
“And like we always appeal to Nigerians to understand, they have to take ownership of their Armed Forces. They have to take ownership of the security challenges we are facing. It’s not the challenge for the Armed Forces alone or security agencies; it’s everybody’s responsibility to do.
“We’re happy that we’re beginning to get that support from everywhere. Human intelligence information is coming, it’s flowing quite very well and we are taking adequate action and that’s why we see things are improving.
“What we have done is that we have established and enhanced the kinetic efforts for the three services for our operations. We have the Delta Safe, which is in the South South for oil theft and militancy. At least for the first time now, we have been able to reach our Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil quota for Nigeria and we intend to do more.
“Our target is to hit 2.2 million barrels a day for Nigeria. It’s not something that we can also do alone. We also need the other stakeholders in the oil industry to also play their own role. We are doing more, providing more security. We are close to two million barrels per day. We intend to do more. This year, we want to intensify our operations.”
The CDS said security agencies have formed groups that are discussing with the locals. And they have found that that discussion has helped a lot.
Chairman of House Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, said as representatives of the people, it is their duty to ensure that every Naira is judiciously spent to strengthen the operational capacity of the armed forces and deliver tangible results.
He said this year’s budget defence is particularly significant as it comes against the backdrop of evolving global and domestic security threats.
Benson stated that these recent developments highlight the need for heightened vigilance and inter-agency collaboration.
