TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration inherited a badly managed Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east but it has succeeded in significantly curtailing the threat of the insurgents.

The president said this on Saturday at the passing out parade of the 63rd regular course cadets comprising the first set of female combatants cadets at the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna state.

The cadets comprised of 59 personnel for the Nigerian army, 40 for the navy and 29 for the air force.

Buhari commended the troops, saying their commitment had helped a great deal in gaining the upper hand over Boko Haram.

“You will all recall that this administration inherited a badly managed Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east,” he aid.

“The violence even spread beyond north-eastern states, but the capacity of the insurgents to launch attacks has now been significantly curtailed.

“Boko Haram’s capacity to hold territories has been obliterated. What is ongoing now are mop up operations to clear the remnants of the insurgents from their numerous hideouts.

“All these successes are largely the efforts of our gallant troops of the Nigerian military. I therefore commend our men and women in uniform and the intelligence community for their roles in dealing with the emerging threats.”

He also warned‎ the Niger Delta militants against continuous destruction of oil installations in the region. He urged them to embrace peace, else his administration would take decisive military action against them.

“Today’s challenges, however, go beyond Boko Haram. We have seen the negative impacts of kidnapping, cattle rustling and renewed militancy in the Niger Delta on our economy,” he said.

“The repeated attacks in the Niger Delta have been impacting negatively on oil revenues. The scourge of illegal small arms and light weapons, and the drugs war, among others, remain issues which we are tackling seriously.

“Recently, we flagged off the clean-up of Ogoniland as part of the programmes to salvage the ravaged environment. We are convinced that undertaking such a monumental project will contribute to addressing the root causes of militancy in some parts of the Niger Delta region.

“However, for the avoidance of doubt, let me state that other options are still open, including decisive military action, if necessary, to deal with the criminal elements disguised in ethnic regalia to sabotage the country largely for their selfish and parochial interests.”

Still, he maintained that the priority of his government was “constructive engagement of the stakeholders for peace”.

The ceremony was attended by the likes of Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state; Mansur Dan-Ali, minister of defence; Gabriel Olonishakin, chief of defence staff; Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff; Ibit-Ete Ibas, chief of naval staff.

After a brief period of ceasefire, the militants, led by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA)< have recently resumed attacks on oil installations.