Provide helicopters, Boko Haram remnants will be history, Army urges NASS

The remnants of Boko Haram terrorists and other forms of insurgency will be crushed in less than no time if the Nigerian Army is provided with the necessary gadgets according to Maj. Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi, Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole.

The military chief disclosed that lack of Army Aviation was responsible for its inability to defeat the insurgents.

He made the revelation while receiving the National Assembly joint committee on Army in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, yesterday.

Adeniyi said Boko Haram has never been a “formidable force” as they are perceived to be.

He said: “The only thing that needs to be given to the army now is Nigeria Army Aviation with its own helicopters.

“There is a way you solve a problem that will change the game. The army needs combat helicopters to end the Boko Haram war. If we have it, it will not be deployed like air force assets, air force jets which are for bigger strategic goals.

“These helicopters will sleep with us in the trenches, they will be with us in the frontline. These helicopters and the rifles are dispatched together.

“I know this has been on the table for years. When this is done, Nigeria can forget about the deadly Islamic sect.

“Let me say Boko Haram is not a formidable force, they are not strong; they cannot sustain 15 minutes of intensive firing. I personally exchange with Boko Haram in Marte, in Delta, in Gubio as deputy theatre commander and as theatre commander.

“Please go and tell Abuja that the terrorists are not a formidable force that the military cannot defeat.”