Army will stop at nothing to neutralize terrorists, kidnappers, criminal elements – COAS Lagbaja

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, says the Nigerian Army will stop at nothing to neutralize terrorists, kidnappers and other criminal elements creating challenges of insecurity in the country.

He enjoined Commanders at all levels to always be ingenious and courageous, saying the adversaries they fight are emboldened by weakness as they cannot afford to show a lot of it.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the COAS first quarter conference in Abuja, Lagbaja assured Nigerians of the Nigerian Army’s resolve to, in conjunction with their sister services and other security agencies, ensure the security of lives and properties across the country.

According to the COAS, “I enjoin law-abiding Nigerians to continue to support the Nigerian Army in our efforts to make our territory inviolable, safeguard the lives and properties of loyal citizens, and create the enabling atmosphere for good governance and economic prosperity.”

Lagbaja noted that fear is a major currency with which their adversaries trade, suggesting that they must turn the tide against them and out-trade them in their currency.

While appreciating all the personnel holding one form of command or leadership position in the highly challenging period of the country’s history, the COAS stated that the Department of Army Operations and Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps will henceforth jointly provide an initial brief to all divisions and commanders of specialized formations like the Gds Bde to bring them up to speed on AHQ’s expectation and aid their takeoff.

He assured that the COPP(A) would provide further guidance to the standing committee by formulating appropriate orders and instructions, saying that the Military Secretary (A) should note that the formation command appreciation and recognition plaque for senior officers does not qualify recipients for the Field Command Medal of Honour award and should thus not be cited as a basis for demanding such instituted honors and awards.

He stressed that the Formation Command Appreciation/Recognition Plaque presented to 7 of the senior level commanders posted out of command between August 2023 and the first quarter of the year is their way of appreciating them for their contributions towards a better Nigeria and encouraging them to do better.

He charged them to understand that posting is a routine exercise in the military, and several circumstances lead to it, saying many may not be fully understood by all.

To complement the new initiative, he said the Chief of Operations would henceforth head a team made up of COLOG (A), CASE, COTI (A), CMI (A), and any other PSO deemed relevant to debrief direct reporting formation commanders not later than 10 days post-handover.

He explained that the standing committee would submit a 3-5 page report highlighting lessons and issues that could help AHQ better guide new formation commanders as well as improve the security, welfare, and morale of troops in the formation they commanded.