to Maiduguri in the northeast, following a directive from President Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari announced the move in his
inaugural speech on May 29, saying the Islamist insurgents would not be
defeated until military command and control was transferred to the city
at the heart of the uprising.
"A
reconnaissance and advance team for the establishment of Military
Command and Control Centre (MCCC) for OPERATION ZAMAN LAFIYA for the
fight against terrorism and insurgency has moved to Maiduguri," an army
statement said.
"Zaman Lafiya" means "peace" in the Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria.
Army
spokesman Sani Usman said the advance team was working to set up a
fully functioning "forward command base" to coordinate the offensive
against the Islamist rebels, who are blamed for more than 15,000 deaths
since 2009.
"From now on, the fight against terrorism and
insurgency would be monitored, coordinated and controlled from this
centre," he added. Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri, Borno state's capital, more than a decade ago and the group has carried out scores of attacks there over the last six years.
Addressing
the conflict after he was sworn in, Buhari said "victory can not be
achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja...
"The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued."
Analysts
described the announcement as a shrewd move from former army general
Buhari who appears committed to intensifying the fight against Boko
Haram.
Usman said another
command centre was being set up in Yola, the capital of neighbouring
Adamawa state, where two suicide bombers attacked a market last week,
killing at least 31 people.
Yola had largely been spared from Islamist violence for the past several years.
At
least 93 people have been killed in 11 suspected Boko Haram attacks
since Buhari took office, highlighting the grave threat the group poses,
despite recent gains by a four-nation offensive against the insurgents.
Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon launched a generally praised joint counter-insurgency operation in February.
The
offensive has liberated large swathes of territory from Boko Haram
control but there are signs of the insurgents regrouping, especially in
remote border regions.
Source: AFP
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