Military and foreign allies have weakened the backbone of terrorist groups, Defence Intelligence Chief says

By Kingsley Omonobi

ABUJA — Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye, Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), stated that the Nigerian Armed Forces, together with international partners such as the United States, United Kingdom and France, have considerably weakened terrorist groups operating in the country.

During the Second Quarter Operations Briefing for Foreign Defence Advisers and Attachés held on Wednesday at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) headquarters in Abuja, Undiandeye reported that sustained military operations had crippled the leadership structures and operational capabilities of terrorist organisations such as ISIS and Boko Haram.

He added that the armed forces have successfully targeted and neutralised key commanders, foot soldiers and support networks of the insurgent groups.

“Our forces have assaulted, decimated and decapitated them to the extent that their logistics chains, arms and ammunition couriers, as well as other support networks, have been largely dismantled,” he said.

The Defence Intelligence Chief maintained that Nigeria’s security situation has improved considerably thanks to enhanced operational capabilities, intelligence gathering and the deployment of technology in collaboration with allied nations.

“Nigeria is secure. The security challenges confronting our nation have largely been contained by the Armed Forces through improved operational capabilities, intelligence and technology, working in close coordination with our allied partners, particularly the United States, the United Kingdom and France,” he stated.

Undiandeye explained that the quarterly briefing was organised to give foreign defence advisers and attachés an accurate assessment of Nigeria’s security situation, countering misleading narratives that he said circulate on social media and other unreliable platforms.

He added that the forum also provided an opportunity to showcase the strong collaboration among Nigeria’s military, intelligence and security agencies in addressing various security threats across the country.

“The occasion provides an avenue to highlight the cordial synergy and working relationship among security and intelligence agencies in the joint effort to combat the security challenges facing the country, with remarkable operational successes being recorded on several fronts,” he added.

In his remarks, Maj. Gen. Ojogbane Adegbe,