Our determination to protect Nigeria must be stronger than ever – COAS

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, has urged officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army to ensure that their determination to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity remains stronger than ever.

Oluyede said this at the opening of the 2024 COAS Annual Conference on Monday in Abuja.

Oluyede who gave assurance that the army would relentlessly pursue excellence in ensuring the safety and well-being of all Nigerians, said the conference was designed to assess the army’s activities for the outgoing year while consolidating plans for the forthcoming one.

According to him, their focus would be on developing innovative strategies to confront and ultimately defeat terrorism and other threats to the peace and security of the country.

“I am, however, determined to ensure that under my leadership, the Nigerian army remains steadfast and unwavering in its commitment to addressing the challenges facing our great nation.

“Our determination to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity must be stronger than ever, and we will relentlessly pursue excellence in ensuring the safety and well-being of all Nigerians.

“My leadership concept aims to create an enabling environment that facilitates administrative and operational successes for the Nigerian army,” he said.

The COAS urged operational commanders to engage actively with their troops to ensure that they are motivated, prepared, and ready to tackle challenges head-on.

He also challenged them to embody decisive action and set good examples that inspire the force as well as lead with determination, resilience, empathy, and an unyielding commitment to the army’s mission objectives.

“We have increased the tempo of ongoing operations against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and wanton killings across the 6 geopolitical zones of the country.

“The fight against terrorism and banditry under Operations HADIN ΚΑΙ and FASAN YAMMA has been intensified in the North East and North West theatres, respectively.

“In particular, Operation FANSAN YAMMA is making concerted efforts to speedily dismantle the Lakurawa terror group’s networks in the North West.

“These operations leverage enhanced intelligence gathering, rapid deployment of special forces, and synchronised air and ground offensives to establish control and neutralize threats in the region,” he added.

Oluyede said that reinforced efforts were ongoing to engage local communities in information gathering and sharing to foster trust as well as promote a united stance against Lakurawa and other terrorist groups.

According to him, the broad strategy underscores their unwavering commitment to safeguarding the nation and ensuring the safety and security of its citizens.

He said that the troops deployed in other operations had continued to collaborate with personnel of other security agencies to contain security threats in the North Central, South East, and South-South regions of the country.

“The sustained large-scale ground offensives supported by air and maritime assets across all theatres have continued to keep terrorists and other criminals off balance while building the confidence of the locals.

“Relatedly, our non-kinetic efforts have been hugely successful, particularly in the North West and North East regions.

“So far, we have had a large-scale surrender of terrorists and the submission of a substantial cache of arms and ammunition, which ordinarily might not have been possible through only kinetic efforts.

“To this end, the Nigerian Army will upscale both kinetic and non-kinetic efforts across all theatres of operations in the coming year to ensure peace is completely restored across the Country,” he added.