The Nigerian Army has assured Journalists in the country that they would not be victimized unnecessarily in the course of their duties.
The Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, gave this assurance at a lecture organized by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter.
The lecture, with the theme: “Media-Military Relationship in the Fight against Insurgency,” was part of the activities marking the 2016 Press Week of the chapel.
General Rabe, who was reacting to the recent declaration of a Journalist, Ahmed Salkida wanted along with two others in connection with Boko Haram abduction of Chibok girls, said the report was full of sentiments.
He advised the media practitioners not to allow sentiments to influence their judgment on the issue.
He said the military should be allowed to do its work, while assuring that no member of the media would be victimized unnecessarily.
General Rabe said that good military-media relationship is crucial to winning the war against insurgency.
He said the media drove public support for the military, which in turn had boosted the morale of officers and the rank and file.
Giving a progress report on the war against terrorism, the General said that no fewer than 8,000 Boko Haram members have voluntarily surrendered to the “Operation Safe Corridor” in the North East.
He said the surrendered insurgents were in a camp in Gombe State waiting to be “de-radicalized” by the military.
General Rabe said that more than 10,000 Boko Haram captives have been rescued by the military and that some of them have been reunited with their families, while others have been taken to Internally Displaced Persons camps.
He said that Boko Haram has been successfully decimated by the military and that government is working hard on the rehabilitation of the victims and reconstruction of the affected areas.
The General said that the military would soon launch “Operation Safe Corridor” to address the menace of herdsmen across the country.
He assured that the military operation would put an end to the wanton killings by the herdsmen. [myad]
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