The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, has assured the nation that the Nigerian army would soon surmount attempts by some individuals to compromise the territorial integrity of the country by the declaration of sovereignty on behalf of ethnic nationalities in the country.
The assurance came days after Yoruba nationalist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, better known as Sunday Igboho, flagged off public awareness of his dream Yoruba Nation, which he has vowed to actualise.
Similarly, former Niger Delta militant leader, Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo recently announced establishment of Biafra Customary Government comprising parts of the South East and South South geo-political zones.
Before Igboho and Dokubo kick-started their campaigns, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was the only major group known to be agitating for independence, leading to the military crackdown on the separatist group, the declaration of IPOB as a terrorist group by the Nigerian Government and Kanu’s escape to exile.
COAS Attahiru hinted darkly at another possible crackdown while speaking on Monday, March 22, 2021, in Uyo at the first Commanding Officers’ Workshop 2021 with the theme, ‘Repositioning the Nigerian Army to Defeat Contemporary Adversaries in a Joint Environment’.
The army chief also promised that the Nigerian Army will deal decisively with every form of security threats confronting the nation.
The COAS said that he would continue to provide mission oriented training through workshops and build capacity for the military that would make the army dependable and feared by all adversaries.
“The Nigerian army under my leadership would remain proactive and jointly work with other security agencies to decisively deal with threats facing the nation.
“The Nigerian army under my watch remains resolute and is poised more than ever before to decisively deal with individuals or groups that threaten the peace, security and stability of our great nation,” he said.
In his remarks, Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom said the security challenges confronting the nation called for a military that was ready and equipped to face the problems.
Emmanuel, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo, urged the military to intensify and expand the strategies, techniques and tactics needed to contain all insecurity across the country.
He commended the various security agencies in the state for the synergy and harmonious working relationship among them which he said had brought about security in the state, and promised to continue to support them.
“With the security realities confronting our nation, the military more than ever should be ready and equipped to face and confront these realities by ensuring that the service maintains the highest possible standard of continuous training for optional performance.
“It is reassuring that in spite of other operational commitments across the country, the new Chief of Army staff has considered it necessary to organise this workshop,” Emmanuel said.
Earlier in his address, the General Officer Commanding 6th Division, Maj.-Gen. Sani Mohammed, said the workshop was the first major achievement of the chief of army staff.
He said that the workshop was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that it was an opportunity to enhance training and build capacity for military officers.
Mohammed said that the workshop had participants drawn from the South-South region of the Nigerian Army.
Reaffirming the Chief of Army Staff’s disclosure, Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff, said on Monday that the military has concluded plans to neutralise non-state actors and other agents of violence in the country.
While speaking at a one-day National Defence and Security Summit in Abuja, he said illegal occupants of communities, forests and countryside will be targeted so as to stabilise the country.
According to him, the military will ensure that the peace which eluded the country returns as soon as possible.
“Our strategic objectives are manifold and imbued to neutralise non-state actors and other agents of violence in our communities, forests and countryside to stabilise the security situation across the nation, to facilitate law and order; and lastly to provide the enabling environment for peace and development.
“These presuppose that the military would need support from other security agencies during the operations and would be required to give support to others at different stages of the internal security effort.
“On behalf of the officers and men/women of the armed forces, I pledge our unalloyed loyalty to C-in-C and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The mandate shall be delivered; fear and despair shall be extinguished from our land. Nigeria will have peace again,” the CDS said.
He stressed that the Armed Forces were committed to ensuring the return of peace to different parts of the country being confronted by insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of security challenge.
The military chief noted that defence and security were universally considered as common, but existential values that affect the entire nation.
He added that the summit was organised to seek to discuss how to promote kinetic operations by leaders and eminent personalities in the Nigerian society who would contribute their narratives towards addressing the security challenges.
