New Telegraph

Military: It’s not our duty to uncover sponsors of terrorism

The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), Thursday, said the uncovering of the sponsors of Boko Haram, as well as Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), was not its responsibility.
It said such mandate was vested in intelligence agencies such as the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), as well as the Department of State Services (DSS).
Coordinator, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General John Enenche, who made the position during an operational briefing at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, maintained that the preoccupation of the military, was that of taking the battle to the trenches of the enemies of state.
He, however, assured that the issue of sponsorship of terrorist groups in the country, was being handled at the “highest level”.
“I want to respond clearly, and direct…we don’t know their (Boko Haram) sponsors…For the sponsors, I cannot say because that is being handled at the highest level. The sponsors, we don’t see them, we have not seen that people are sponsoring them.
“The evidences that people are getting provisions, equipment that ordinarily with what they steal even though they sell them…common assessment will not justify it.
“How much will they steal and sell to buy the caliber of equipment they use, so such things logically tell you that they are being sponsored.
“The kind of weapons these terrorists are using like gun trucks and other sophisticated weapons are expensive and how much are they stealing to procure those arms that have to say that they are sponsored and heavily funded,” Enenche said.
He further noted thus: “But like I said, it is not the duty of the military to uncover the sponsors.
“Our duty is to remain in the frontline and defeat terrorism and other criminality and that is what we are doing.
“We have the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Department of State Security (DSS), it is their responsibility to gather intelligence on the sponsors of the terrorist and not the military.”
Meanwhile, the military has insisted that, its major operations across the country, have been yielded positive results, owing to enewed vigour brought to bear.
According to the coordinator, the ongoing non-kinetic activities such as medical outreach, provision of palliatives, has continued to “foster the much desired Civil-Military cooperation between troops and the local populace”.

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