Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano
The Chief of Army Staff (CAS), Lieutenant-General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, has charged Nigerian troops deployed in various locations in the country not to display show of force but must act decisively in the event of any breakdown of law and order.
According to him, “You are not there to just ordinarily display a show of force but you must also act decisively on the event of breakdown of law and order.
“If there is any breach of security in your area of operation, If you remain aloof and indifferent, then you are not doing justice to your country to protect the citizens. This must be well known to all of you, as well as all the officers.”
Speaking in Kano during his visit to the 73 Battalion, Janguza Barracks Thursday evening, Buratai cautioned troops on operation to always bear in mind that their basic responsibility is the protection of citizens in the event of any breakdown of law and order.
He said: ”Any case of arson or murder or any attempt to harm any of your colleagues or civilians or that someone wants to harm him or her, you must act decisively. Is that clear! (chorused).
”I want you to continue with the inter-agency and the inter service cooperation, within your areas of operation with security agencies, so as to synergize and achieve a common goal of securing our country by ensuring the protection of lives and property of our citizens.
”It’s also very important for you to ensure that you work very closely. The era of inter-agency rivalry is gone, so you have to work together for the common goal of our country.
“Equally, I want to urge you to remain steadfast in your duties, to remain loyal and indeed to remain committed for the unity of our country.”
According to him, “While we are still battling with the security challenges in this country, we will continue to ensure that you receive good training and you continue to be re-trained, especially in asymmetric warfare.
“This is the major security challenge that we are facing and my directive for this year and indeed last year have been emphasis on asymmetric warfare and the security challenges are addressed properly.
”If we don’t train, then you should be rest assured that we would be in a very difficult situation, which is not good for the service and indeed the country.
”So, my training directives are very clear and I am happy that the Officer Commanding the Brigade Command and your commanding officers are all trying their best to ensure that those directives are implemented.
“I was with your Brigade Commander a short while ago, as well as with your commanding officer, in which they all briefed me on the improvement they have undertaken on their own, the achievements they have made, as well as the challenges.
“We have taken special note of these challenges and be rest assured this would be addressed immediately, within the available resources. I have already given directive on the renovation of the very bad accommodation that you have here. And I have also taken note of some of the security gaps and some logistic requirements, which would also be addressed.”
Commenting on the security situation in Kano, Buratai described it as stable, noting that: “We still have some cases of kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminal activities, which means that you must work together, with other security agencies to have synergy and achieve the desired goals.”
