Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Haruna, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division, Nigerian Army, has called on communities in the Northeast to build resilience against insurgents.
Haruna gave the charge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri on Wednesday.
He underscored the role of community self-defense in combating attacks from terrorist groups, drawing historical parallels to the establishment of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF).
“You just can’t sit down and allow insurgents to come and kill you. You have to develop a means to fight back.
“How did the Civilian Joint Task Force start?
”It started with communities using simple weapons, clubs, sticks and other traditional tools to defend themselves,” he said.
The GOC noted that most recent attacks have been concentrated in remote border communities near Sambisa Forest and other insurgent enclaves.
“Incidentally, all attacks are now happening in the fringes of local governments bordering Sambisa and other areas.
“They only target those places, attack, and then retreat,” he noted.
Citing the Chibok girls kidnap incident as an example, the GOC explained how insurgents launched the surprise attacks from their hideouts in Damboa before retreating after causing destruction.
“The attackers in Chibok come all the way from Damboa, strike and then fizzle out,” he said.
Haruna stressed the need for local communities to be proactive in defending themselves while working with security forces.
“If communities can build themselves up and organise their own defensive strategies, they will stand a better chance of repelling these attacks.
“After all, how many attackers usually come to raid these villages?
“With proper preparation, they can fight back,” he stressed.
NAN reports that the GOC’s remarks come amid ongoing military operations aimed at eliminating insurgents in the Northeast.
The operations involve a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic strategies being deployed to stabilise affected regions.