Chief of Army Staff Lt.Gen. Tukur Buratai, who was represented by Brig.Gen. J. Hamakim at the ‘State of the Nation Conference’ organised by the Nigerian Bar Association in Abuja on Tuesday, said force is the only option available before the army at the moment.
The conference was attended by various heads of anti-graft agencies, representatives from parliament, the inspector general of police, DSS bosses and NBA top guns.
The army was accused at the conference, of using disproportionate force in the Niger Delta as it searches for the Avengers, instead of exploring the dialogue option.
Hamakim who represented Buratai at the conference responded by saying: “I quite agree that dialogue is very important. But where it is not too obvious that the adversary is ready to come out and talk, you can also force such a person.
“I think that is what the Nigerian Army is trying to do. Yes, we don’t know the group’s leader, for now; that is the only option, possibly we have to bring the people out to know who you can talk with.”
The army chief rebutted allegations that soldiers leveled Gbaramatu community in the Niger delta, killing innocent persons and raping women.
“We have done our investigation and nothing like that is happening,” he said.
The army was also accused of heavy handedness in its engagement with members of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) earlier in the week. A few persons, including police officers, reportedly lost their lives in the clashes.
Hamakim said the demonstration by IPOB members was everything but a peaceful one, forcing the army to meet violence with some measure of force.
“Remember that lives were lost; policemen were killed; some were thrown overboard and the military has rules of engagement.
“The rule of engagement is that if you feel threatened, you have the mandate to respond. What we can say is that, that was not at all a demonstration that you can say was peaceful,” Hamakim said.