The Nigeria Army has drawn about 1,000 soldiers and officers from the 242 Reconnaissance Battalion in Badagry, as replacement for troops fighting insurgency in the North East with.
This was disclosed by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, who addressed the soldiers at the weekend.
The Army Chief charged them with the responsibility wiping out Boko Haram, but that they must do so within the rules of engagement in mind. He said: “but, you must fight within the rules of engagement.”
He added that the soldiers must respect human rights and ensure that civilians and captured terrorists are treated humanely.
He said the military will maintain the tempo in the operations in the North Eastern part of the country until insurgents are defeated, adding that the defeat of the insurgents is a service to Nigeria. “We will continue to maintain the initiative until Boko Haram insurgents are defeated. This is a service to your nation. The problems of human rights abuse must be avoided, you must ensure you treat civilians humanely and also treat captured terrorists humanely.”
The Army Chief urged the soldiers to remain loyal to the President and Commander-in- Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that the Army had got intervention from the Federal Government to kit the soldiers and provide mobility and fire power.
He urged the soldiers to maintain standards of discipline warning that no heavy weapon must be left unattended to for 24 hours.
Buratai equally told the soldiers to guard their weapons and maintain equipment provided to them especially as all the allowances of troops fighting in the north east have been paid.
The General warned men against use of social media and against leaking information to the public, adding that, “if you are caught sending out information that is related to the operations, you will be dealt with accordingly.”
