Navigational Toolbar

Monday, August 19, 2013

ARMY TO FLUSH OUT EXTREMISTS - Ihejirika



Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika, has cautioned officers of the Nigerian Army not to engage in acts of religious extremism, adding that the army will not hesitate to flush out soldiers involved in such acts.

Ihejirika, who stated this at the graduation ceremony of the Basic Counter-terrorism Course 13/13 at the Nigerian Army Training Centre (NATRAC) in Kontagora, Niger State, at the weekend, said the army had discovered that inciting statements and materials were being distributed within the military.

It has been observed of recent that a religious cleric has been distributing inciting statements, leaflets and compact disc loaded with information to confuse, misdirect and cause disaffection among you. It is also targeted at breaking the Espirit-de-corps which binds us together as a fighting force, he stated.
He described the allegations that the armed forces were opposed to amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect as false, adding that soldiers should be able to read in between the lines to sieve lies, propaganda and misinformation that would end at nothing but to cause confusion within their ranks.

The COAS said: Most of the spurious allegations recently raised by a religious cleric accusing the Joint Task Force (JTF) of conniving with Boko Haram members to give locations and timings to conduct attacks and that the armed forces is opposed to amnesty for the insurgents are untrue and baseless.
 
You can see for yourselves the infrastructure developments around you in Kontagora barracks which are also replicated in other barracks across the country to improve your efficiency, service delivery and well being.

Ihejirika, who was represented at the occasion by Commander of NATRAC, Major General Sylvester Audu, said training and re-equipping of the Nigerian Army was an ongoing project, urging soldiers to acquaint themselves with new equipment.Generally, welfare is being improved, new barracks are being built and old houses are also being renovated. In particular, I have released some funds for the renovations of soldiers’ accommodation to reduce the stress on the already stretched accommodation issue in NATRAC. I have also directed headquarters to come up with the design of a befitting students’ accommodation block,” the COAS said.

A total of 1,600 young soldiers comprising 1,431 male and 169 female attended the course that lasted for two months,

Director of Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency (CTCOIN), Brigadier-General Tijani Golau, in his remark, disclosed that the main objective of the course was to avail the soldiers the requisite skill and knowledge to combat the current wave of contemporary security challenges in the country.

No comments:

Post a Comment