President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed that no part of Nigerian territory will ever fall into the hands of terrorists again.
Speaking at the 2017 Nigerian Army Small Arms Championship held in Sambisa Forest on Monday, the President said holding the championship in the forest was an affirmation that government was “resolved to stamp out all activities and operations of the Boko Haram insurgents from our territory.”
Represented by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, Buhari noted that: “This championship is a showcase of the clear effect and degradation of the Boko Haram terrorist group with the destruction of Camp Zairo in the heart of the famous Sambisa forest.
“I can say categorically that never again will Boko Haram occupy any of our land.
“I want to use this opportunity to congratulate the Nigerian Army for this achievement and reiterate at this point by noting that it is a case of professional training that brought the Nigerian Army to this length,” he said.
Buhari restated that through the Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative, the government would reconstruct facilities and structures destroyed by the terrorists.
Earlier, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the championship was held at the forest to consolidate on the gains achieved by troops in the North East so far.
“This championship is therefore held here at the heart of the Sambisa forest as part of Nigerian Army’s plans to effectively dominate all hostile territories in the North East”, Buratai said.
NASAC was held seven years ago at Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, in Kaduna state.
