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President of the South East Development Peace Initiative (SPDI) Hon Vitus Okechi has hailed recent breakthroughs made by the military in the fight against terrorism and insurgency.<\/p>\n

Okechi, who spoke to journalists in Enugu on Wednesday, commended the efforts of the military, expressing confidence that the battle would soon be won.<\/p>\n

He commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja as Chief of Army Staff, insisting that the army boss has shown commitment, resolve and dedication to wipe out terrorists across the length and breadth of the country.<\/p>\n

Okechi, a former Commissioner and Local Government Chairman in Enugu State, recalled how troops of the Nigerian Army in separate operations recently in Zamfara and Katsina states killed no fewer than 11 terrorists.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Zamfara, the hideout of a terrorists\u2019 leader, Hassan Yantagwaye, in Tsafe Local Government Area, was raided which resulted in a gun battle with two of his men killed in the operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Katsina State, the gallant troops on 30 March, 2024 engaged in a fierce gun battle with terrorists in Shawu Kuka, Shinda, Tafki, Gidan Surajo, and Citakushi in Kabai I and Kabai II within Faskari Local Government Area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe troops neutralised eight terrorists and recovered three locally-fabricated guns, military uniforms, and a large number of stolen grains,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Okechi further recalled how the most wanted commander of Boko Haram terrorists, Mallam Yathabalwe surrendered to the troops.<\/p>\n

\u201cMallam Yathabalwe had been terrorising Gwoza and the surrounding Mandara Mountain communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was said to be responsible for series of attacks and killings, including the slaughtering of farmers on their farmlands in Gwoza LGA and environs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that, \u201cthe most intriguing is the successful raid of Orlu and environs by the Joint Task Force, Operation UDO KA which resulted in the dismantlement of a notorious camp belonging to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), in Imo State.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe raid, which was conducted on Thursday and Friday, led to the recovery of three Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) bomb, a motorcycle, seven Baofeng radios, local ornaments, foreign ATM card, two SIM cards, two voter\u2019s cards, plate numbers of stolen vehicles, and a toolbox.<\/p>\n

Okechi commended the reassurance from Lagbaja maintaining that under his leadership, the Nigerian Army had continued to record tremendous successes in various operations at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

DAILY POST recalls that the Army Chief had recently reassured Nigerians that the service personnel were determined to eradicate terrorists, bandits, and other threats.<\/p>\n

In his Easter message on Sunday, Lagbaja noted that \u201cthe Nigerian Army remains committed, determined, and focused on ensuring the total defeat of insurgents, marauding bandits, and all other forms of external and internal aggressions disturbing the peace of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anti-terrorism: Nigerian Army\u2019s recent successes reassuring \u2013 Okechi<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President of the South East Development Peace Initiative (SPDI) Hon Vitus Okechi has hailed recent breakthroughs made by the military…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,3865,13325],"tags":[14,180,766,13326],"class_list":["post-25377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nigerian-army","category-okechi","tag-army","tag-news","tag-nigerian","tag-okechi"],"yoast_head":"\n