The Nigeria Army has debunked the allegation that it halted operations to allow leader of the terrorists group, Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, to escape.
It described the insinuation as demoralising, just as it enumerated the different reasons why an operation may be halted.
In a statement by its Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Nigerian Army said the claim of halting operation to allow Shekau escape was not true.
“Contrary to the mischievous allegations, no such order or directive was given by anybody to any of the units and formations in the operation,” Nwachukwu said.
He pointed out the different reasons an operation could be halted.
According to him, the ongoing Operation Deep Punch II which is aimed at clearing Boko Haram insurgents from the Sambisa forest and the northern fringes of Lake Chad region, was planned to be executed in phases.
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He said because it was a phase operation it required that at a predetermined point or stage, troops would be halted either preparatory for transiting to another phase or the other depending on the threat situation.
Nwachukwu explained further in the statement: “During the operation, troops’ movement could be put on halt when vehicles or other mobile equipment are bugged down due to the difficulty of the terrain and for recovery purposes.
“In military operations avenues are deliberately provided for troops to habour, where they rest and carry out refitting of weapons and other equipment before resuming the operations.
“Additionally, booby traps and land mines could also compel advancing troops to halt to enable some specialised squad or scout assess the situation before movement resume. These and several other factors could precipitate the halting of troops during operations.
“It is therefore very appalling and unimaginable that a fundamental operational procedure could be misinterpreted and be mischievously used as a psychological weapon to indirectly dampen the morale of our troops.”
