Contrary
to reports that made waves recently, the Nigerian military has
disclosed that Marte had been a deserted town before the recent reported
incursion of terrorists in the area as efforts are being taking to
address any untoward development.
In
its twitter handle, the Defence Headquarters stated that “there has not
been any static deployment of troops in Marte for quite sometimes in
line with the need to emphasise more aggressive patrol of many
threatened isolated communities while the assault on the forests and
mountain hideouts of terrorists is ongoing.
"Only
occasional patrols and surveillance have been undertaken towards the
area as the bulk of troops are engaged in the operation to clear the
terrorists from all identified enclaves in the forest.
"Besides,
Marte had been deserted by citizens most of whom had fled to other
towns while others are in IDP camps located in Maiduguri and other
places. It is understandable that those terrorists escaping from the
offensive operations in Sambisa and other enclaves are looking for place
of respite.
"They
must have found the Marte deserted and decided to harbour there. Now
that their presence is reported, the issue will definitely be addressed
in a very short while.
"There
is really no cause for alarm in the way some reports are presenting
this situation as if it is a meaningful resurgence of terrorists. This
will only fool the terrorists and their sympathisers into false
celebration. There will certainly be no respite for terrorists anywhere
in Nigeria. Wait and see."
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