Major General Olusegun Adeniyi, the new theatre commander, Operation Lafiya Dole in Borno state, has vowed to turn on the heat on Boko Haram insurgents and take the fight to them in their hideouts.
Adeniyi made the declaration while taking over from the former theatre commander, Major General Benson Akinroluyo in Maimalanri Cantonment in Maiduguri on Saturday.
He said: “I am going to turn on the heat on the Boko Haram insurgents. I am going to take the fight to them until Boko Haram disappears from the Northeast.
“I am proud and happy that I am today taking over from General Akinroluyo, my commander. He has mentored me and we are going to continue from where he stopped and even do more until we finish the task of wiping out insurgents from the theatre and the nation at large.”
He also vowed to fight to the end and close the chapter of Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria.
“I want to thank the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai for appointing me as Theatre Commander. I assure him and Nigerians that I will not let you down. We will fight everything to see that the works finish on time.”
In his remarks, the immediate past Theatre Commander, Major General Benson Akiroluyo said that he was leaving the theatre calm and better than what he met when assumed duty.
“I came when there is tension in the theatre, a few days after metal attacked and the Metele was always on the media. And thank God I am leaving the theatre today calm and better than when I met it.
“I am happy whenever I am In Borno because I was in Maimalanri as a captain in 1997 and got my promotion to Major and 20 years after, in 2017 I was also decorated with the rank of Major General here in Maiduguri; Maiduguri is my second home. I was also the second longest-serving theatre commander since the commander was created, second to General lucky Irabor.
“I am happy that I am today still alive that I am handing over to my deputy’s. I have gone round the theatre and today thank God He has spared my life and I am leaving the command to my deputy who also knows the terrain and the operation of the theatre. I hope he will continue from where I stopped. It is just like a moving vehicle and today I am leaving to my spare driver, who will keep the vehicle moving until we reached the destination.”
