The director of defence media operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, says drones being used by terrorist groups are not military grade and cannot pose any threat in the counter-terrorism war.

Mr Buba said this on Friday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the recent airstrike incident in Sokoto State.

According to him, the use of drones in battles is not new, as they have different classes and capabilities.

“We are having a war against terrorists and insurgents across the country.

” When we are talking of drones, these are not professional drones, not military-grade drones.

“These are toys that you went to buy and found a way to put one or two things on board and use them.

“They are not effective but we are doing something about it,” he said.

Mr Buba also reiterated the position of the federal government that there is no foreign base anywhere in Nigeria.

He described the rumoured French base in Nigeria as mischievous, adding that the country would not be a base for proximity war.

“I heard one of the African leaders say something like that.

”That is a distraction from him instead of tackling the problem in his country,” he said.

(NAN)