New Chief of Defence Staff says Boko Haram will be wiped out before April

The new Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, has vowed that the military will end the Boko Haram campaign in the country before the end of before April, this year.

The CDS said it was mandatory for the Military to wipe out the outlawed sect in the next three months in order to prevent constitutional issues that may arise.

Badeh gave the assurance while taking over as the new Chief of Defence Staff from his predecessor, Admiral Ola Ibrahim at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja on Monday.

He assured the new Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, who is expected to coordinate the fight against the insurgents, that it was possible for his work to be concluded in a short time.

He also gave the assurance that the other service chiefs, Air-Vice Marshal Adesola Amosun and Rear Admiral Usman Jubrin would give the requisite support to the Army chief in the prosecution of the campaign to end terrorism in the country.

He said, “The security situation in the North East must be brought to a complete stop before April 2014.

“We must bring it to a stop before April so that we will not have constitutional problems on our hands.

“We don’t want to go back to the Senate to start begging and lobbying. If we do our work cohesively, I can tell you, Gen. Minimah, you will finish your work in no time.

“I can assure you (Minimah) that the Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of Air Staff will give you all the support you need.

“I can say confidently that this war is already won.”

He added that the Nigerian Armed forces had recorded significant progress against the insurgents in the North East.