The Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai has insisted that Operation Positive Identification (OPI) would not in any way infringe on citizen daily activities.
Buratai made this statement while answering a question from the House of Reps committee on Army in Abuja.
Represented by Maj.-Gen. Usman Muhammed, the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Buratai disclosed the Army has submitted a detailed report on how the military intends to embark on the OPI to the committee.
He revealed that the military was already involved in ‘Operation Lafia Dole’ in the North East, adding that there were other additional operations within the major operation.
Buratai disclosed that OPI was already being ongoing in most part of the North East and is one of the operations among many.
He further explained that the Army had intelligence that Boko Haran insurgents have disperse from their enclaves and are diffusing into the civilian populace other than their territory that is known to the military.
Based on this the Army needed to be more proactive and stage the OPI which commenced on Sept, 22 in the North-Eastern part of the country.
The Army chief added that the Military had a tradition of initiating operations during the year ending to curb crimes that always come with the yuletide, and this year cannot be different.
Buratai revealed already they are conducting Ayama Kpatuma in the North Central, Atilogwu Udor in the South East and Crocodile Smile in the South-South, which are aimed at addressing the security challenges in those zones.
“It is a training exercise and at the same time, it is a true operation whereby we use the opportunity to carry out activities to checkmate criminality and crime within those areas, Buratai added.
According to him, the Army feel it needed to extend the OPI to other part of the country as it has yielded result in others, and it is an opportunity to carry out activities that will be geared towards curbing the tide of criminality within the said areas.
The Army General slammed those who speculate that the exercise was going to infringe on daily routine of the citizen, saying the populace has nothing to fear as none of their activities will be disrupted.
Buratai disclosed that the operation was in collaboration with other security agencies like the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Department of State Service (DSS) among others.