By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, on Tuesday said troops intensified offensives to eliminate armed bandits and other criminal elements in the North West and North Central regions are yielding positive outcomes.
Gen Lagbaja, also noted that the military has continued to project forces in Operations HADARIN DAJI, FOREST SANITY, and WHIRL PUNCH while ramping up offensives to eliminate bandit enclaves.
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The COAS who said this at the opening of the Chief of Army Staff First Quarter Conference in Abuja, also added that these operations have destroyed criminal hideouts, neutralized scores of bandits, and subjected the remaining ones to situations where they are mainly on the run.
He said: “We have remained unrelenting in our efforts to improve our training activities and attune them to the current realities and global best practices. To this end, special initiatives were implemented in the first quarter of the year to enhance troop readiness through mission-focused training. Training exercises like SHINING STAR V, FAST BOLT II, and RESTORE HOPE VI, tailored to equip troops with the requisite knowledge and skills to address prevailing security challenges, were undertaken successfully”.
Gen. Lagbaja also told filed commanders and gallant troops of Nigerian Army not allow the Okuama killings to dampen their morale.
This is as he said that Nigerian Army is viable diplomatic tool for the Government through consistent and effective contributions to national, regional, and global security.
According to him, ‘It is pertinent to accentuate the Nigerian Army’s commitment to remaining a viable diplomatic tool for the Government through consistent and effective contributions to national, regional, and global security. Despite our internal obligations, we have maintained a small but significant presence in ECOWAS, AU, and UN-led interventions around the world as contingents and staff officers, military observers, and mission experts. Only recently, on the approval of Mr President and Commander-in-Chief, the second company of the Nigerian contingent in the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei was inducted on 5 April 2024. This effort is geared towards upholding our commitment to maintaining global peace and security, particularly within the African Continent. Similarly, the Nigerian Army has extended its support to peacekeeping missions in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau by deploying troops and allocating resources. This deployment underscores our steadfast commitment to providing capable peacekeepers as part of our contributions to global peace and security. As we make more noticeable progress in ensuring peace, development, and economic prosperity at home, the Nigerian Army will make more troops and equipment available for deployment in Peace Support Operations within and outside the African continent.
“In the area of Civil-Military Cooperation, the Nigerian Army has intensified efforts to win the hearts and minds of law-abiding citizens through the conduct of numerous CIMIC activities across the country. These efforts aim to improve the living conditions of the populace, win their trust and confidence in the Nigerian Army, and further complement governments’ efforts at various levels. We hope to build lasting partnerships and promote peace and prosperity across our host communities and the communities of some of our carefully selected senior officers”.
On the Okuama killings, he said: “Allow me to briefly recap the recent tragic incident involving the loss of troops from the 181 Amphibious Battalion in the Okuama community on 14 March 2024, where the Commanding Officer, three officers, and 13 soldiers paid the supreme price. The incident is quite unfortunate, and we must not allow our morale to dwindle; instead, we must remain steadfast and unwavering as military men. As leaders of our Army, we must create that awareness across the force that the season we are in is more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous than before”.
The COAS concluded that the Nigerian Army must, continue to be adaptive, ingenious, innovative, and ready to take up more non-traditional military responsibilities if they must help the country survive the time we are in.
