By Achile Danjuma
Vice President Kashim Shettima has vowed that the Federal Government will end insurgency in the North-East with “decisive and overwhelming force”.
This followed recent attacks in Borno State that resulted in casualties among security personnel and civilians.
Shettima, in a statement on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, declared that the government will not be intimidated by the attacks, which included abductions in Ngoshe and coordinated assaults on military formations.
“We remain one nation, tied to a common destiny. The sanctity of human life is non-negotiable.
“This madness will be brought to an end, not with empty words, but with the decisive and overwhelming force of the Nigerian State,” the Vice President stated.
He disclosed that the government is deploying additional tactical assets and intelligence-driven reinforcements to affected areas in response to the attacks.
“The events of the past few days are a painful reminder of the shadow that persists, but let it be known: we choose light over shadow, and hope over despair.
“Our difference as a nation is the distance between the ruin of anarchy and the promise of order,” Shettima said.
The Vice President revealed that President Bola Tinubu had been briefed on the attacks and directed swift and total mobilisation of the security architecture.
“The Federal Government will not tolerate any sanctuary for those who seek to displace our people or occupy an inch of Nigerian soil,” he stated.
The recent attacks targeted military formations in Konduga, Marte, Jakana, and Mainok, with insurgents briefly overrunning some positions before reinforcements arrived. In Ngoshe, residents were abducted by the terrorists.