The suppression of insurgency, bandits, and other criminal activity, according to Lt. Gen. Farooq Yahaya, Chief of Army Staff, is unthreatened.
The COAS made this statement at the workshop’s opening ceremony, which was conducted at the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering in Makurdi and focused on future challenges posed by improvised explosive devices and threat mitigation.
Major General Sunday Igbinomwanhia, who is the Force Commander for Operation Whirl Stroke, was the army chief’s representative.
He stated that the Nigerian Army had launched a significant acquisition push in a persistent effort to boost soldiers’ morale and fighting spirit.
“Some of the equipment acquired includes Vallon handheld detectors, MRAPs, TCVs, Husky vehicles, APCs, and UAVs, adding that efforts were ongoing to purchase some Husky vehicle mounted mine detection systems amongst several other pieces of equipment.
“The defeat of insurgency, banditry, and other acts of criminality remains my top priority. It was with this commitment in mind that the procurement of equipment and realistic training of personnel were embarked upon.
“Similarly, the research and development drive for indigenous production of some of our requirements is ongoing. The local production of the Ode rechargeable blasting device and the remote-control jammers is commendable, but more can be done.
“To this end, the Nigerian Army will continue to sustain its stride of supporting local production of our defense needs to augment our procurement”, General Yahaya said.
But the CoAS pointed out that to comprehend the future of improvised explosive devices, its problems, how the adversary functions, and how to minimize the IED risks, it was required to attend the training with the theme “Capacity Development in CIED for Robust Support to NA Operations”.
” I am therefore glad that the objectives of this workshop are in line with my desire to defeat an insurgency by ensuring that our troops have freedom of action through effective CIED operations,” he said.
