Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, on Wednesday said ending the Boko Haram insurgency requires involvement of Borno and Yobe people as they know those behind the ongoing terrorism attacks.
General Oluyede, who spoke in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, when alongside Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, he relocated to Maiduguri on the directives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in order to take direct charge of the security situation in the State.
President Tinubu had condemned the Maiduguri suicide bombings and killings, and directed the CDStaff and Service Chiefs to relocate to Maiduguri and take charge of the anti-terrorism operations.
But addressing North-East region residents in Maiduguri, General Oluyede said: “I want to put it clearly this afternoon that for us to end this act of terrorism, the people of Borno State and Yobe must take ownership of this problem.
“Bulk of people perpetrating this heinous act are from these States, they are our brothers, sisters, cousins and we know them.
“For example, when Kukawa was attacked, and we were conducting cordon and search afterward, we realised that two of the people that came to attack Kukawa were those inside that village. That means they are accomplices.”
The CDS also said that to bring the Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorism to an end, all hands must be on deck, and the communities must resolve that the situation should come to an end.
“We must take ownership of this crisis. That is my message to the people of Yobe and Borno,” he insisted.
On terrorists using drones and advanced technology in attacking the military bases and civilians locations, he said, “it’s something that is evolving, and we are responding with our own drones and we are getting more of the drones.”
