Army exploring other means to resolve conflicts –COAS

By Philip Nwosu and Vivian Onyebukwa

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru  has said the force under  his watch is employing several conflict management techniques, including mediation and town hall meetings, to resolve conflicts in the country.

Attahiru said these initiatives have assisted in de-escalating conflicts and prevented reprisal attacks, while also facilitating the return of some internally displaced persons to their communities.

He spoke at the opening ceremony of the 21st conflict management seminar of the Nigerian Army College of Logistics (NACOL), lamenting that Nigeria is confronted with several security challenges, such as Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, militancy in the Niger Delta Region, kidnapping for ransom, cattle rustling, and armed robbery in the North West.

He said the herdsmen and farmers crisis mostly in the North Central has led to several killings and destruction of livelihood and created many internally displaced persons, adding that  the seminar will evolve modalities for synergy between the military and other security agencies that will facilitate prompt intelligence sharing and joint operations towards success in military operations.

General Attahiru who was represented at the ceremony by the Commander Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps Major General M.A Daudu  said that the constant drafting of the military in conflicts or crisis situations demands elaborate actions to bequeath the personnel with the rudiments of conflict management.

Commandant of the NACOL, Major General Martins Enendu said this years theme could not have been more apt, looking at the challenges of civil military cooperation in the current operating environment which he described as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.