Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike
Ihejirika in Kaduna on Tuesday said the Army would train a special
squad in the art of using dogs to fight Boko Haram.
The COAS urged soldiers combating the group in the North to be alive to their duties.
He added that the Army would inaugurate 14 speed boats to be used in checking militancy in Niger Delta.
Ihejirika spoke at a workshop at the One Division of the Nigerian Army in Kaduna.
He said, “I’m glad to inform you that
our second batch of our trainees on the use of dogs in the fight against
terrorism have just completed their training and will soon be launched
to join you to further make your work easier.”
He said the target was to stop terrorism in the country.
Ihejiraka said all soldiers must be
combat ready at all times, saying that a situation where Boko Haram
would engage troops at checkpoints without much resistance was
unacceptable.
The army chief, stressed the need for
Commanding Officers to be innovative in tackling the worsening state of
insecurity in the country.
He, however, commended the troops the
One Division of the Nigerian Army for their efforts so far in ensuring
the security of lives and property in the North.
He said, “Let me therefore commend your
efforts so far as the North-West and North-East zones of the country
are beginning to see some respite from terrorist activities. But nearly
is not good enough as we must ensure that the citizens are more secured
and safe and living peacefully in locations of their choice. So, there
is a lot of room for us to train harder and harder to improve on our
performance.”
The COAS noted that the choice of the
division for the workshop was to underscore the importance of the
current operation of the division and that of the 3rd Division in
tackling the security challenges in Kano and other parts of the North.
Ihejirika said, “It is high time for you
and your men to be in war mood to be able to deal with the current
challenges. Otherwise, how do you explain that troops at checkpoint duty
would be attacked by these decadence? And they sometimes do that and
get away with it. This is an area you must work on.
“As you are out in the field at every
point in time, make sure you are either conducting an operation or you
are gathering intelligence. You must be doing any of the two at any
point in time. If your area is too quiet, you have a reason to get
worried.”
“We believe that how your troops perform
is a direct reflection of the qualities of their Commanding Officers.
That is why you are assembled here for the next four days to brainstorm
on matters of service interest in order to improve and sharpen your
professional skills.”-punch
No comments:
Post a Comment