BY LAWRENCE ETIM.

In line with the ongoing reorganisation of the Special Forces in the North-East, the authorities of the Nigerian military have ordered the deployment of more troops in Maiduguri, Borno State. A military source said that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, had approved the deployment of over a battalion of soldiers to intensify the ongoing battle against insurgents in the North-East.

It was however gathered that the deployment was a routine military exercise which must take place for as long as the military operation to  flush out the insurgents and stabilise the security of the zone continued. It was learnt that most of the soldiers who were driven into the Borno State capital by 2pm on Monday were taken to the headquarters of the 7th Infantry Division of the Nigerian Army at Maimalari, Maiduguri.

Investigations were to revealed that the soldiers were deployed from the Nigerian Army formations in Kotangora, Niger State and the Nigerian Army School of Artillery, and Corps Headquarters, Bauchi. Still a military source, confirmed that the deployment was part of the ongoing reorganisation by the COAS to reposition the Special Forces to make them more responsive to the escalating insurgency in the North-East.

The deployment occurred shortly after the temporary relocation of the Chief of Army Staff to the North-East to personally oversee the military operation in compliance with the resolution of the Senate Committee on Defence. Since his relocation to the North-East, the Army chief has also effected major changes in the military leadership in the North-East, especially in Borno State.