By Olawale Lamina
A pro-democracy group, The Democratic Front, TDF, has identified a drop in terror-related deaths in Nigeria by 81% as a major achievement in the ongoing war against terrorism in Nigeria.
In a statement issued and signed by its Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Muhammad and Secretary Chief Wale Adedayo, TDF said the revelation, which first emerged in President Bola Tinubu’s National Democracy Day speech, was an indication of the administration’s great strides.
The statement partly reads: “We are heartened to welcome this remarkable landmark achievement in the ongoing counter terrorism efforts of the Tinubu administration, especially at this crucial period when the spate of insecurity is being weaponislzed by the opposition against the government.
“This significant drop in the number of Nigerians who have died from terror-related attacks has brought back sad memories of the bombardments of a Catholic Church in Niger state, Nyanya Motor Park, Kano Central Mosque, Maiduguri Central Mosque, the Sani Abacha Military Cantonment in Abuja, and several other civilian targets where scores of innocent people were murdered by terrorists.
“Despite the fact that continuous abductions and sporadic banditry in the ungoverned spaces are still creating security concerns and public apprehension, we pay kudos to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s introduction of non kinetic approach to counter terrorism, as well as the ongoing shift towards “precision targeting” that has led to improved military operations against terrorists.
“Furthermore, the reduction in the number of terror-related deaths in Nigeria aptly explains the monumental success recorded in military operations, which have neutralised over 13,000 insurgents and also led to the surrender of over 124,000 low-level terrorists. And we believe that the immediate impact of these commendable strides is the reduction in terror-related deaths by 81%, as noted by the President.
The group also noted particularly what it regarded as that President Tinubu’s cautious, consistent, and effective coordination of the ongoing Deradicalisation Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) programme.
TDF used the opportunity to appeal to the managers of the programme to remain focused and vigilant in ensuring that repentant insurgents do not bypass it to infiltrate civilian communities to cause fear and uncertainty among residents.
“The fruitful partnership between the Tinubu administration and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, is also yielding impressive results by providing repentant fighters, widows, and displaced victims of terrorism with agricultural and economic opportunities to make a decent living,” the group stated.
Similarly, it praised President Tinubu’s diplomatic partnership with other countries like the United States, Turkey, and France in his result-oriented multifaceted counterinsurgency moves adding that is is a pointer to the fact that the President fully understands the true nature of terrorism as a local crime that is fueled by international dimensions.”
Finally, TDF urged Nigerians to ignore the rantings of the opposition and continue to give their moral support to the President and the Armed Forces in the unwavering determination to eliminate terrorism in Nigeria.
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