Top officers of Nigeria’s Defence
Headquarters and military experts from the United States, the United
Kingdom and other countries held their first meeting in Abuja on
Saturday evening.
The meeting signified effective
commencement of the allied operations against Boko Haram insurgents and
the search for the abducted girls of the Government Secondary School,
Chibok, Borno State.
Investigations revealed that the meeting started late in the afternoon and ended before 8pm at the Defence Headquarters.
The Director of Defence Information,
Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, did not comment on the meeting when one of
our correspondents called to get his response on the issue.
However, a military source, who spoke to
one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, said the
meeting was an operational briefing which was attended by senior
military officers.
Investigations revealed that the meeting
was attended by the National Security Adviser, Col. Dasuki Sambo
(retd.), the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, the
three service chiefs and high ranking military officers in strategic
positions.
A security source said the meeting
discussed the need for all to avoid the blame game in the concerted
quest to deal with the issue of the missing girls.
The Nigerian side was said to have
observed that there had been collaborative efforts between the US and
Nigeria on the issue of terrorism preceding the outcry generated by the
abduction of the girls.
It was further gathered that the
attention of the foreign team was called to earlier efforts by the
National Security Adviser who was said to have visited the US on several
occasions to press for American support on the issue of insurgency.
The source stated, “The important thing is that with the meeting, they have taken off and they have started well.”
“They recognised the fact that there is
an Army on the ground that has been working. The process would be swift,
precise and that hostage rescue remains the most delicate of military
operations which required a lot of caution because of the issue of the
human life involved.”
The source also said it was the position
of the military that one of the greatest factors militating against the
success of the ongoing operation was collaboration between the
insurgents and the local communities.
The source said the foreign forces would commence effective operation with their Nigerian counterparts this week.