Civilians Conspiring With Terrorists To Frustrate Our Effort – Defence Chief

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has claimed that Nigerian citizens are conspiring with terrorists to frustrate the effort of the military to end terrorism in the country.

Musa also stated that the civilians are supporting terrorists and bandits with food items, fuel, arms and ammunition, fertilizer, urea and things that could be used to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday night, the defence chief appealed to all Nigerians to cooperate with the military to defeat the insurgency, saying that the war against terrorism is a Nigerian war.

He said: “We appeal to all Nigerians to cooperate. Security is everybody’s responsibility. I give you my challenge while in the North-East; in some places, you find out that there are people even supporting them (the terrorists), giving them equipment and food. Every day, we fight them to stop taking fertilizer, urea and things that could make them fix Improvised Explosive Devices.

“It’s a challenge.“We have Nigerians who are also doing so much to trade with them, carrying fuel and food to them. If we all pull together and stop this thing, they will not survive. So, it’s a holistic thing and not only for the armed forces alone. This is not an armed forces war; this is a Nigerian war, and I want Nigerians to take ownership of it.”

Asked when Nigerians should expect an end to terrorism, he stated that no country should allow terrorism to start because it is difficult to eradicate.

He sad: “That is an elephant in the room. My take is that no country should allow terrorism to start because it is difficult to eradicate, because the centre of gravity of the terrorist is their ideology, and their ideology is in their mind, so changing the mindset is what we require.”