Nigerian defense minister denies interference with counter-insurgency operations

Nigeria's Minister of Defense Mansur Dan-Ali has dismissed a media report suggesting that he is interfering with the military's counter-insurgency operations in the restive northeast.

Dan-Ali said in a statement made available to Xinhua that contrary to instance cited by the media, the ministry's actions with regard to military operations in the North-East were in response to a presidential directive on the subject matter.

According to the minister, the Ministry of Defense, as a supervising ministry, has the responsibility to ensure that government's directives and policies are strictly adhered to by the services.

Dan-Ali said the advisory committee set up by the ministry was not meant to indict anybody but based on a presidential directive meant to ensure accountability in management of allocated resources.

The minister said the media report that suggested that he was interfering with the functions of the service chiefs was unfortunate.

He said the ministry of defense remained committed to supporting the various services to discharge their responsibilities smoothly and in line with the policy thrust of the present administration.

The ministry of defense recently set up a committee to look into the issue of soldiers fighting insurgency and front line troops in other theaters across the country. Endit