DEFENCE
Nigerian Army remains committed to curbing insurgency, terrorism-COAS
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, says the Nigerian Army under his watch remains alive to its Constitutional mandate of protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity and curbing activities of insurgents and terrorists.
Lagbaja said this during the 2023 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) lecture and Book presentation on Wednesday in Ibadan.
The topic of the lecture was “Optimising Nigerian Army Administration for Successfully Countering Insurgency Operations: Strategic Options.
The COAS said that the Nigerian Army was committed to tackling the activities of banditry and other criminal activities and most importantly safe guarding Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for entrusting the stewardship of the Nigerian Army to him at this crucial time.
“I want to use this opportunity to pledge that under my watch the Nigerian Army shall remain loyal to do all within its power to defeat all adversaries across the length and breadth of Nigeria,” COAS said.
In his address, the guest lecturer, Retired Maj.-Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade, advised the Nigerian Army to look critically into the issue of troop’s rotation and regular payment of allowances of troops in the war front.
He also urged the Nigerian Army to provide medical attention to wounded troops for optimal performance in insurgency operations.
Oyebade, who retired as the 28th Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), said that the Nigerian Army had the responsibility to ensure its troops were provided with necessary administration and logistics to effectively deliver and tackle counter insurgency and operations.
“Over the years, effective administration for troops remained a reccurring challenge; the dynamic engagements of the Nigerian Army in different internal security and counter insurgency operations have serious administrative and logistics challenges.
“This is evident in Nigerian Army troops’ complaints of poor feeding, delay in payment of allowances, irregular issuing of protective kits among others, all these incapacitate the willingness of the troops to fight effectively,” he said.
Oyebade urged the Nigerian Army to critically assess the issue of special promotion and promote those who actually deserved to be promoted.
According to him, promoting wrong persons has an effect on the morale of the troops to fight and put in their best.
He said the Nigerian Army should take care of the families of deceased officers and ensure they get their benefits as and when due, to boost the morale of those still alive.
He also advised the Nigerian Army to invest in latest technology that would help in their operations, and be abreast of what the insurgents were doing in order to be ahead of them.
Oyebade also urged the Nigerian Army to look inward by partnering relevant industries and produce their weapons locally rather than depending on foreign countries.
During the programme, the book “Nigerian Army Participation in Ecomog Operations and Lessons Learnt 1990-2003 was presented to the public.
The idea of the book published by the Nigerian Army is to provide a pure and virtual account of Nigerian Army operations to improve on knowledge, training and subsequent operations.
Dignitaries present at the occasion included the Vice-Chancellor of University of Ibadan, Prof. Kayode Adebowale and representative of Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Lekan Balogun, among other senior military personnel (NAN)
The Police Command in Kebbi State has detained three police officers for alleged murder of an arrested suspect in connection with stealing.
The Spokesperson of the Command, CSP Nafi’u Abubakar, made this known in a statement issued in Birnin Kebbi on Saturday.
“On April 15, based on a complaint of stolen rims of trailer truck reported at the Divisional Police Headquarters, Jega, one Abubakar Auwal was arrested in connection with the case.
“On April 16, at about 6:a.
m while the investigation was ongoing, the suspect collapsed in detention.“He was rushed to the general hospital, Jega, for treatment, but died on the same date at about 10:p.
m,” he said.Abubakar added that based on the development, the Commissioner of Police, Bello Sani directed the case to be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for a discreet investigation.
He said three officers were found culpable and are currently detained at the SCID for further investigation, while the Divisional Police Officer in the area has been queried and transferred with immediate effect.
Abubakar reiterated the force’s unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of ethics and professionalism in discharging its duties.
“The wrong actions of few officers do not reflect the values of the Nigeria Police Force, prompt and disciplinary measures are always taken against erring officers to ensure accountability and justice.
“The Nigeria Police Force remains dedicated to maintaining discipline, protecting the integrity of its operations and fostering the trust and confidence of the people it serves,” the spokesman said.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede has said that the Nigerian Army has introduced new techniques and procedures to defeat the natuon’s adversaries and end terrorism.
He said this during a fire power demonstration exercise of the 2025 Combat Arms Training Week (CAT), on Wednesday in Bauchi.
Represented by Maj:-Gen.
Henry Wesley, Commander Ordnance Corps, Oluyede said the Federal Government had procured equipment and weapons aimed to tacklie insurgency and terrorism in the country.He said that President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Army were working to ensure that positive changes were and reflected in the field.
“This particular event is very important because we have discussed strategies, operations and tactics and at the end, it is at the tip of the spear that all these will be reflected.
“It was very important that all the participants are brought here to come and see the capabilities which we are using to execute the various operations that we have, ” he said.
Oluyede said the enemies would feel the heat at the end of the day, adding that, “the government has bought a lot of equipment and weapons. Some are already in the field, some are still coming.”
According to Oluyede, the fire power demonstration is important as it acquaints the participants with latest capabilities the army deployed for various operations.
Maj.-Gen. Obinna Ajunwa, the Commander, Nigerian Army Armoured Corps, said the week long event provided platform to deliberate on pertinent issues affecting combat arms operations.
He commended the officers and men present, especially the retired senior officers, who attended the fire power demonstration exercise.
Troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria have in the last one week, neutralised 109 terrorists, apprehended 81 suspects and rescued 43 kidnapped hostages across theatres of operation in the country.During the week under review, troops neutralised 109 and arrested 81 persons.This is contained in a statement by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.
-Gen. Edward Buba on Friday in Abuja. Buba said the troops also nabbed six perpetrators of oil theft and denied oil thieves of an estimated sum of N618.7 million during the week.According to him, troops recovered 21 assorted weapons and 124 assorted ammunition, comprising nine AK-47 rifles, five fabricated rifles, four dane guns, and locally made pistols.He said the troops also recovered seven magazines, 97 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 22 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, five live cartridges, three baofeng radios, four vehicles, six motorcycles and four mobile phones amongst other items.Buba said the troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 10 crude oil cooking ovens, 10 dugout pits, 12 boats, four storage tanks and 10 illegal refining sites.“Other items recovered include three pumping machines, 12 speedboats, 20 drums, two motorcycles, one mobile phone and four vehicles among others.“Troops recovered 631,709 litres of stolen crude oil, 3,140 litres of illegally refined AGO and 2,250 litres of PMS.“Troops are sustaining the winning ways of ongoing operational engagements.“Accordingly, citizens will continue to witness the incremental effectiveness and efficiency of the armed forces,” he said. (NAN)
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