Insecurity: We ‘ll be tough on banditry, terrorists – COAS

By Kingsley Chukwuka

Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), has said the Nigerian Army will be tough on banditry, terrorists and all forms of insecurity bedeviling the country.

COAS said the Army is on a daily basis improving on its skills and formation to better tackle Insecurity.

“Shooting and firing is the hallmark of the Army to be able to shoot at the adversary and achieve results is what we seek to improve on as a daily routine”.

The Army Chief stated this at the weekend at the closing of the 2022 Nigerian Army Small Arms Championship, hosted by the 3 Division Rukuba barracks in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The event held at the Division’s Small Arms Range, Miango, in Bassa LGA, near Jos, hosted military personnel across the country.

The competition which seeks to improve the skills of personnel is also a bi-annual training event which focuses on training and retraining of personnel for optimal performance, the COAS said, adding that the championship will afford officers and men of the Nigerian Army the opportunity to improve on their weapon handling skills toward combating insecurity in the country.

According to him: “This is a bi-annual training event which seeks to engender a higher sense of combating and weapon handling among our troops.

“The success of this year’s event is an indication of my commitment to entrench and enhance realistic training for our troops.

“This championship will improve troops’ capability and operational effectiveness and ensure proper use of our weapon in a better scale, to defeat all threats to our national security.

“The Nigerian Army under my watch will continue to prioritise training as a critical component in ensuring a mission ready and capable force to carry out the mandate given to us by the president.

“The championship had provided us with the opportunity to identify a significant number of men among officers and soldiers that would fight insecurity”, he said.

Mr Yahaya directed Commanders of units and formations to ensure all training approved by the army headquarters for personnel were conducted, calling on Nigerians to collaborate and support the military and other security agencies in their bid toward tackling insecurity in the country.

Our correspondent reports that various commands and formations participated in the competition with Army Headquarters Garrison Abuja, emerging the overall winner.