The Defence Headquarters has issued an appeal to Nigerians to thwart the activities of terrorists in the upcoming year.
The DHQ encouraged citizens to prioritize security awareness and promptly report any criminal activities observed in their surroundings to security forces.
Speaking to the press in Abuja on Thursday, Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, assured that the military would respond promptly to such information.
“Make Nigerians no gree for terrorists this year. You see something, you say something and we assure them of doing something, ” he said in pidgin.
Buba joined in the popular slang ‘no gree for anybody,’ currently trending among youths as the motto for the year. This catchphrase is seen by many as an expression of resilience and standing firm in one’s convictions without easily yielding to external influence.
In contrast to Buba’s endorsement of the slang, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, had issued a warning on Wednesday, expressing concerns that the slang could potentially lead the country into crisis.
After urging Nigerians to unite against terrorists, Buba emphasized that the military’s goal in 2024 is to identify and eliminate terrorists, regardless of their hiding places.
He added, ” The aim of our ongoing operations remains unchanged and clear even in the new year 2024. We aim to find and destroy the terrorist wherever they may be hiding to ensure their enduring defeat. This would deny the terrorist the ability to terrorize or hurt citizens across the country.
“Our operations indicate that we are hunting the terrorist commanders and their senior leadership. Indeed, from their topmost leadership to the lowest commanders are dead men walking and we will stop at nothing until they are dead or surrender.”
He noted that military operations in the last two weeks had resulted in the killing of 86 terrorists, while 101 have been arrested.
“Our operations resulted in 86 neutralized terrorists with 101 of them arrested. Troops also arrested 30 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 21 kidnapped hostages.
“In the SS, troops denied oil theft of the estimated sum of N736,115,470.00 only,” Buba added
