Standup9ja - Buhari Cancels Sambisa Forest Trip, Delegates
Defence Minister
President Muhammadu Buhari has canceled his planned trip to
the Sambisa Forest to open the Nigerian Army Small Arms Championship holding on
Monday, March 27.
He, however, delegated the Minister of Defence, Mansur
Dan-Ali, to represent him at the event, said a statement issued by the Chief of
Army Staff, Tukur Buratai on Saturday.
The chief of training and operations at the army
headquarters, David Ahmad, had earlier announced that Buhari would declare the
ceremony open.
While no concrete reason was given for the cancellation,
Buhari would have been the first president to visit the former stronghold of
the Boko Haram sect in Borno state.
Addressing pressmen in Maiduguri, Buratai said Sambisa
forest was chosen for the event to consolidate Nigerian Army’s grip on the
area.
He said: “We have
been in the north-east, fighting the Boko Haram terrorists, and you know the
significance of the Sambisa forest to them.
“It used to be one
of their centres; in fact, we suspect that their command and control centre was
located there before its eventual capture.
“We also want the
place to be dominated by our troops and also to get firm control, so that we
will continue to dominate the area.”
Buratai said the championship was part of the training
activities of the Nigerian Army, aimed at sharpening marksmanship of its
personal.
“The Nigerian Army
Small Arms Championship is part of the training activities scheduled for 2017,”
he said.
“It is a
championship among the formations of the Nigerian Army.
“The objective of
the event is to sharpen the marksmanship skills of the army personnel.”
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