The Nigerian Air Force has announced that the army will use maximum firepower to root out the armed groups behind the country’s growing instability, amid fears that the situation, if left unchecked, could affect the general elections due in February. .

Insurgent attacks in the northeast, kidnappings for ransom and killings of villagers in the northwest have become an almost daily occurrence in Nigeria.

But the militants launched a number of attacks outside their zones of influence in the northeast, raising fears that their activity could spread to other parts of the country.

Air Force Commander Marshal Oladao Amao said he told commanders during a meeting on Tuesday that the security situation “remains fragile and shrouded in uncertainty” with armed groups moving between northern states, according to a Nigerian Air Force statement.

He added that operational commanders should “show no mercy and ensure that maximum firepower is used against terrorists who pose a threat to the security of the country.”