Intelligence from public boosts military prowess in Nigeria: chief of air staff

The Nigerian government said Thursday that intelligence reports by the public so far had boosted military prowess to effectively deal with the Boko Haram insurgents.

The reports had assisted the military and other stakeholders tremendously at ensuring return of normalcy to the areas ravaged by insurgents, Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Adesola Amosu, told a news conference in capital Abuja.

According to him, the cooperation received from Nigerians had contributed immensely to the current victory recorded against Boko Haram.

"These are people that come from other countries with attempts to destabilize our country," the military chief told reporters, adding "We are getting valuable intelligence from our civilian population and we want them to keep it up because this is our country, we have no other country to go to."

Amosu was also happy to see the measures taken by the government to fight the menace headlong, saying the cooperation has given them huge comfort because these men of the underworld have been sufficiently prevented from escaping through the borders.

In the view of the Air Marshal, Boko Haram command and control has been substantially damaged.

"We have been able to disrupt their training session, so the issue of regeneration is out of it," he added.

Nigeria has witnessed a drastic and frantic security challenges in the last few years. This crisis is in various forms - communal, religious, political and socio-economic, with varying degree of casualty, mostly innocent citizens.

The most worrisome fact is that apart from killing and maiming innocent souls, this incessant violence has injected agony and tension into the minds of Nigerians. Endite