The Nigerian Defence Headquarters has challenged Asari Dokubo, an ex-leader of militants in the Niger-Delta region, to come to the battlefield and witness the capabilities of the military.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba made the challenge known in a Thursday statement while responding to Dokubo’s claim that he could shoot down a military helicopter hovering around his residence.
Asari Dokubo (born 1964), formerly Melford Dokubo Goodhead Jr. and typically referred to simply as Asari, is a major political figure of the Ijaw ethnic group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
Dokubo was the president of the Ijaw Youth Council for a time beginning in 2001 and later founded the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force which would become one of the most prominent armed groups operating in the Niger Delta region.
He is a Muslim with populist views and an anti-government stance that have made him a folk hero amongst certain members of the local population.
According to local news outlets, the former militants leader had said that he had the power to contain the Nigerian military.
Responding to this, Gen Edward Buba dared him to enter the battlefield and see whether he would not be neutralised by the Nigerian military.
Buba vowed that the ex-militants leader would be neutralised if he showed up on the battlefield, and he called upon the relevant security agency to address the matter.
“Now, to comment that he (Asari Dokubo) can shoot down military helicopters is laughable, and I am tempted to laugh about that. We are in a democracy, and we are professional; we cannot simply act on someone’s comments without due consideration, lest we be accused of being undemocratic,” the military spokesman said.
“The military is not the only security agency or department in the country. Other security forces have a constitutional role to play in addressing these issues.
“I assure you that he does not possess that capability, but I will leave it to the appropriate security forces to handle the matter. Our mandate is to confront him on the battlefield and take him out. He should come to the battlefield and see whether we can react or not.”
Nigerian military added that its main aim was on terrorists operating in various theatres of operation.
“Our enemy is the terrorists. While some may choose to label them differently depending on the region, in the northwest and northeast, some refer to them as bandits,” Director of Defence Media Operations Maj Gen Edward Buba asserted.
“I tell you, they are all terrorists. We must label them for what they are. Troops are making significant progress; as I mentioned, we prioritise targeting terrorist leadership, and we have successfully eliminated over 300 terrorist commanders in the last three quarters, not to mention their foot soldiers.
“Our aim is to diminish their fighting capabilities and to damage their military potential, which we have been achieving. As indicated in the brief you have just received, you can see the number of weapons and ammunition we have recovered.”
– Insecurity and violence in Nigeria –
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Since the start of 2024 civilians have faced intensified violence across Nigeria, and near-daily attacks by armed groups resulting in kidnappings and other abuses against civilians.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.
A Nigerian soldier, Suleiman S., also alleged that the government’s practice of paying ransoms to terrorists – dubbed as bandits in the country was hindering the military’s ability to effectively combat them.
He urged the public to redirect their blame from the Nigerian Army to the government, emphasising that soldiers are constrained by orders and cannot take independent action.
The soldier said the military has the capability to eradicate bandits, particularly in hotspots like Zamfara State forest within a week if given the necessary orders.
He expressed frustration that the military’s potential is being wasted due to a lack of direction from leadership, whom he accused of profiting from the ongoing crisis.
Nigerian leaders are not going to arrest Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, and other criminals because they were created for political purposes, human rights activist Omoyele Sowore had alleged in September.
Speaking when he appeared on Voice of The People FM, Sowore alleged that government officials have links with the criminals, using them to gain power and later protecting them.