CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF, GENERAL IRABOR DID NOT SAY NIGERIAN SOLDIERS WERE NOT TRAINED FOR BANDITRY, INSURGENCY.
The attention of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), has been drawn to online news report making the rounds that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, said the Nigerian Armed Forces have not been able to holistically tackle the perennial issue of banditry and terrorism in the country because personnel were not trained for such unconventional battle.
The DHQ wishes to categorically state that the allegation is baseless as the CDS was quoted out of context by some overzealous journalists whose intension was best known to them. For the avoidance of doubt, the CDS, who was the special guest of honour at the dinner organised in honour of students of Senior Course 43 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji, Kaduna, who recently graduated, stated that “asymmetric warfare encourages the use of non-traditional military tactics, for which our previous training and operational doctrines were not well suited.”Wap Maigida ,Air Commodore
Deputy Director Defence Information said.
The above statement by the CDS was to prepare the minds of senior officers who are to become middle-level commanders of the operational challenges associated in an inter-woven environment occasioned by different factors.
It is also imperative to mention that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) is a professional force evolving in the area of human capacity building to meet its constitutional roles of defending the nation against internal and external security threats.
The DHQ, therefore, wishes to urge the general public to disregard the defamatory and malicious publication aimed at distracting the present Government which has continued to support the AFN with the needed resources for training and retraining of military personnel as well as acquisition of operational platforms.
No doubt, this genuine effort by Government is additional force multiplier that has given impetus to military operations which is evident in the feats recorded in various theatres of operations.
The CDS on his part has remained focused in providing the right leadership guidance for officers and men of the AFN towards achieving the strategic directive of the Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari, that Nigeria should be safe for all Nigerians and foreign nationals.
The DHQ wishes to use this medium to encourage media practitioners to be circumspect and ensure that they guard against sensational reportage that seeks to cause distrust and disaffection between government and the citizens.
National security is everybody’s business, we must therefore, support and encourage our military and security agencies by providing credible information in order to suppress the emerging security threats.