Theatre Commander of the Joint Task Force, North-East Operation Hadin Kai, Maj.-Gen. Waidi Shuaibu, has said terrorists operating in the North-East have been degraded and avoiding confrontation with forces in the field.

Mr Shuaibu made this known at the opening of Improvised Explosive Device awareness and detection training for the Civilian Joint Task Force in Maiduguri.

“In view of this, the need for them to resort to IEDs cannot be overemphasised. This training is tailored towards equipping participants with the requisite skills and knowledge required to search, detect, identify and mark IEDs for their safety while on operations,” he said.

He noted that there was a need to do more to prevent the terrorist IED from hindering troops’ freedom of action and the freedom of movement of citizens.

The commander reiterated the need for realistic training, assuring that the participants would be provided with the requisite equipment to carry out their duties effectively at the end of the training.

Earlier, the Commander 47 Engineering Brigade in Maiduguri, Brig.-Gen. AO Kazeem, said the course was put up in line with the theatre commander’s intent of training members of the CJTF on IED awareness, search, identification and marking.

He appreciated the theatre commander for making the course a reality by providing the resources required to run the course effectively and efficiently. 

(NAN)