The Nigerian Army has said the aim of the ongoing Operation Positive Identification is to arrest terrorists fleeing from the North-East and not to harass citizens with ‘large numbers of uniformed Nigerian Army personnel’.
In a release by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col Sagir Musa, the exercise is not to create “safe haven or peaceful areas in Nigeria.”
The army stated that the operation, which is to last from November 1 to December 23, “is integral and complementary to Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-East.”
The statement read: “In order to complement the ongoing operation in the North-East, the army has an ongoing Operation Positive Identification which is an intelligence-driven, deliberate, targeted operation and not an independent operation.
“But it is integral and complementary to Operation Lafiya Dole. The aim of the operation is to arrest all those terrorists fleeing or escaping the war zone and theatre of operation to a safe haven or peaceful areas in Nigeria.
“Members of the public are hereby enjoined to discountenance the hitherto faceless and mischievous alert by one company.
“The army wishes to use this opportunity to enjoin all Nigerians to cooperate with it and indeed all other security agencies by giving credible information that will assist in the identification and eventual arrest of the fleeing criminals and terrorists in any part of our beloved country.”
The army noted that it is a false alert to say “residents shall witness large numbers of uniformed Nigerian Army personnel parading the roads in an exercise” as alleged by the company and other individuals.