Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa(Rtd), has shed light on why there were no recoverable bodies following the recent United States airstrikes targeting terrorists in parts of the country.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Thursday, Musa explained that the nature of the weapons deployed in the operation made it impossible to find physical remains of those neutralised. According to him, the airstrikes involved highly sophisticated munitions, including Tomahawk missiles, which leave no visible traces after impact.
“The way they were neutralised, you wouldn’t see anything. It’s a new kind of weapon that was used, the Tomahawks,” the defence minister said.
Addressing claims that some of the missiles may have failed to detonate, Musa dismissed the reports, describing such occurrences as deliberate elements of battlefield tactics. He said deception is a recognised strategy in warfare and should not be misinterpreted as operational failure.
“That is all part of the tactics. In conflict attack, you deceive your enemy. Those are all part of it,” he stated.
Musa further disclosed that the US strikes were carried out alongside coordinated operations by Nigerian security forces across multiple locations. He said the Nigerian Air Force, Navy and Army simultaneously targeted other terrorist enclaves during the period.
According to the defence minister, the joint and coordinated actions have already produced tangible results, with more successes expected in the coming weeks.
“At least Nigerians are seeing the results, and they will see more things coming ahead,” he said, adding that significant progress had been recorded by the armed forces since the beginning of January.
He assured Nigerians that ongoing military operations would continue to degrade terrorist networks and enhance national security.
