Work towards defeating insurgency within shortest possible time, Buhari tells army

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Nigerian Army to up its game in intelligence gathering in tackling security issues.

Speaking on Monday at the opening of the chief of army staff (COAS) conference 2021, Buhari said the war against terrorism and insurgency is intelligence-driven, “requiring the gathering of information and processing it into actionable intelligence for the conduct of operations”.

The president, who was represented by Lucky Irabor, chief of defence staff, also said his government is in talks with “friendly nations” on acquiring equipment for the military to enhance their effectiveness.

“It also needs cooperation and synergy of effort by all the security agencies,” Buhari said.

“I therefore charge you to do more in your information gathering effort and the level of synergy among intelligence operations in order to comprehensively defeat all forms of insurgency and terrorism in our country within the shortest possible time.

“I am aware of the successes so far achieved in the north-east operations as well as all other operational theatres, following of course, the increase surrendering of some of the insurgents that we have witnessed in the past few months.

“You must therefore maintain the tempo to ensure that more of these insurgents continue to surrender until normalcy is fully restored in the region.”

He further asked the troops to remain apolitical and professional in protecting democracy and defending the territorial integrity of the nation.

He said the COAS conference was an opportunity to appraise the training and operational activities for the year with a view to building on lessons learnt and preparing for 2022 activities.

He also urged commanders to ensure effective control of personnel and equipment in their formations for optimal performance on the field.

“I have no doubt that the renewed emphasis on high standard of training and discipline, adhering to military values, effective command and control, servant to rule of law and excellent civil-military relations will enable the Nigerian Army to function effectively to bring glory to our fatherland,” he said.

“Therefore, as the army of our great nation, your role in securing the nation is paramount.

“While performing your constitutional roles, I urge you to remain apolitical and continue to operate within the framework of the principles of fundamental human rights and the law of armed conflicts.”