The United Kingdom has expressed satisfaction with the
successes recorded so far by the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the tackling of
Boko Haram insurgency in the North East and promised to collaborate with
Nigeria for further success. The United Kingdom Assistant Chief of Defence
Staff, Rear Admiral Simon James Ancona made this expression when he led a
delegation of the UK Ministry of Defence and Engagement on a courtesy visit to
the Nigeria Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin.
Rear Admiral Ancona reiterated that the way the Nigerian
military subdued the Boko Haram terrorists has further put the Nigerian Armed
Forces in particular and the nation in general on a positive radar of global
assessment index. He commended the military and allied security agencies for
their doggedness and sacrifice that have led to the decimation of the murderous
terrorists group and called for sustenance of the onslaught to wipe insurgency
from our land. The senior military officer pledged that the UK Armed Forces
would continue to work closely with their counterpart in Nigeria towards
strengthening the capacity of the Nigerian military to be more potent and
responsive in the discharge of their constitutional mandate.
The UK team leader explained that the delegation was in
Nigeria as a follow-up to variety of regional and global security matters
discussed earlier in the year at a Peace Keeping Conference held in the UK.
The visit, he said, would further strengthen and improve the
historic and harmonious bilateral relationship between the two great nations,
assuring the CDS that British contingent in Nigeria would always abide with
extant rules and operations mandate of troops in Nigeria.
In his response, General Olonisakin expressed his profound
gratitude to the UK Government for all the assistance the Nigerian Armed Forces
have enjoyed from the UK. He however solicited for stronger tie in intelligence
sharing, military hardware, manpower capacity building and training in counter
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and Deep Penetration Detection Devices
(DPDDs)
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