The newly appointed Chief of Army Staff Major- General Ibrahim Attahiru was not sacked by the preceded Chief of Army Staff Lt. General TY Buratai which has been circulating by the media houses since his appointment was announced. 

Major General Attahiru who was the Operation Lafiya Dole Commander in 2017 was given a 40-day ultimatum to flush out the terrorists and bring down Shekau within the days. Basically, in the military, you are given a mandate to meet and this mandate guides you on the tactics in flushing out the enemy.

READ ALSO: INSECURITY: PRESIDENT BUHARI APPOINTS NEW HANDS AS SERVICE CHIEFS BOW OUT

Major- General Ibrahim Attahiru made sure there was a good relationship between the Nigeria Army and Airforce, under his watch the Nigeria Army artillery used multi-barrel Rocket launchers to eliminate at least key 5 Boko Haram leaders which are;

Abu Dujuna

Man Tahiru(Deputy to Boko Haram terrorist group Hisba leader)

Man Chari

Malam Abdullahi

Abu Sa’ad

Goni Bamanga

An operation which the Former Chief of Army Staff commended him for his leadership style, zeal and determination with which the directive was pursued. Within the same 40days ultimatum 82 Boko Haram was eliminated apart from the 5 key members who were eliminated. 

"The theatre Commander asked for the extension of the 40 days deadline and it has been granted by the COAS. Given deadlines and extension are strategic means of focusing troops’ efforts in the theatre. Currently, the main thrust of the operations is the decapitation of all remaining terrorists’ factions within the Nigerian territory,” a statement which was announced by the Director of Army Public Relations Brigadier General Sani Usman. 

It is important to note that the military leadership never sacked Major General Attahiru. He was redeployed at the end of his 80 days tenure. Reports about the new COAS being sacked at the theatre of war could affect the ground troop’s morale. 

The media must note that they are part of the counter-insurgency fight.

Boko Haram insurgents thrive by propagating terror and fear which the media should not help push. Without attention, relevance is retrieved from the terrorist groups.

We must support the military at all times and report their successes because we do not have other Armed Forces apart from the Nigeria Armed Forces. 

 Follow us on Twitter and get the most exclusive of news as it breaks

Alade Tobiloba Oyewo

Counter-terrorism, Crime analyst expert 

Follow on Twitter @mobilisingniger