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The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, said the Defence Headquarters is poised to deploy freshly-trained special forces to flush out terrorists from Kwara and Niger States in particular.
He said a commander has been named for the Joint Special Task Force to be known as ‘Savannah Shield’, while resources were being drawn from other security formations to support its mission.
Oluyede disclosed this on Tuesday when he appeared for a 2026 budget defence session organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Defence in Abuja.
The general reiterated the commitment of the Armed Forces to securing lives and property within Nigerian territory.
He said the security situation had improved in the North East geopolitical zone but admitted lapses in the North West and North Central.
He said, “We are evolving modalities to checkmate all these challenges within the ambit of the resources that we have.
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“A new set of special forces was trained and drafted to Benue and Plateau; we are about to deploy another joint task force that will cover Kwara and some parts of Niger to ensure that things get better, and it will be named Savannah Shield.
“A joint task commander has been appointed, and we are trying to draw resources from other places to ensure that area is covered.”
He emphasised that the military could not handle all security challenges bedevilling the nation and highlighted the importance of equipping sister agencies like the Nigeria Police Force and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to complement the military.
He described security as everyone’s responsibility, urging the citizenry to assist security and law enforcement agencies with vital information.
He said security challenges would linger until Nigerians fully believe in the armed forces, support intelligence gathering, and desist from collaborating with terrorists.
