Why Service Chiefs Visited North East – CDS

The Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Leo Irabor, has explained the reason behind last week’s visit of the newly appointed Service Chiefs to military formations in the North East.

Irabor revealed that the operations of the Armed Forces are being reorganized to tackle the security challenges in the country more effectively, and the military chiefs needed to know what the problems are and what needed to be done by visiting the theatre of the operations.

He said military operations needed some “strategic, operational and logistics adjustments” to improve the security situation in the country.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, Major General John Enenche on Thursday.

The CDS noted that the visit was also to enable them interact with troops and commanders in the field in the various theatres.

“This is aimed at ensuring that the military high command comes up with new ways and means of tackling the security challenges,” he said.

He therefore called on stakeholders to give maximum supports to the armed forces so as to defeat insurgents and bandits threatening the peace of the country. 

Recall that Irabor, accompanied by the Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, Chief of Air Staff, Isiaka Amao and the Chief of Naval Staff, Awwal Gambo on Sunday paid their first operational visit to the Theatre Command in Maiduguri.

They were received by Farouq Yahaya, Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole; Abdul Khalifa, the General Officer Commanding, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army and other principal staff officers of the Military Command and Control Centre at the Headquarters of the Air Task Force.

The statement further states that: “troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, on various occasions made contact and engaged some Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province criminal elements. In the various encounters, more terrorists’ enclaves have been destroyed along with their logistics facilities and scores of their fighters destroyed through ground and air strikes at different locations in the North East Zone.

“Also in the South-South Zone troops of Operation DELTA SAFE have continued to protect and safeguard our coastal and territorial waters through intensive sea and creek patrols. Additionally, troops conducted anti-crude oil theft and anti-illegal bunkering operations as well as other anti-illegal maritime activities, and in the process, deactivated several illegal refining sites within the period in focus. In the course of the operations, large quantities of stolen crude oil and illegally refined AGO as well as some equipment were recovered”.