Military still going after Darul Salam – Enenche

The Nigerian military yesterday said it was mounting pressure on the Darul Salam sect to ensure that all threats to society from the group are checked.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General John Enenche, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Abuja at the weekly media briefing on military operations.

The military recently mopped up 290 members of the group and destroyed their camps and hideouts between Koton Karfe in Kogi State and parts of Nasarawa State.

The mop-up exercise was a follow up to the recent surrender of no fewer than 410 members of the group in Toto, Nasarawa State.

Enenche said, “I can assure you that in no distant time the group will vanish, we are putting pressure on them at all corners and we are getting good information on people that are suspected to be collaborators.

“We are not assuming at all because it is a group that their only motivation is based on ideology and one thing that is difficult to kill kinetically is ideology.

“Ideology can only be defeated by stakeholders, particularly those who can speak to their conscience, those who speak and touch their spirits. Religious leaders are with us in this regard, we are also sensitising the general public.”

Earlier, he said in continuation of the intensive clearance operations in the North-west zone of the country, troops of Operation Hadarin Daji had continued to record serial successes against armed bandits.

He said within the period under review, troops of Operation Sahel Sanity acting on actionable intelligence arrested one illegal arms supplier named Usman Ibrahim from Ryom in Barkin Ladi LGA of Plateau State.

The suspect, he said, was arrested with 890 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition carefully concealed in his vehicle. Other items recovered from him include one knife, on pistol grip, a Nigeria Police ID card and N2.2m.

He said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a major illegal arms dealer supplying bandits in the Northwest.

He said on September 12, 2020, troops conducting stop and search operation in Gusau, Zamfara State based on reliable intelligence arrested one male and one female suspects namely Kabiru Dauda and Hafsat Musa with nine parcels containing substances suspected to be Cannabis and other hard drugs.

He said preliminary investigation revealed that suspects are suppliers of hard drugs to bandits.