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From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has assured Nigerians the readiness and commitment of the army to resolve the security challenges bedeviling the country in the shortest possible time.
The COAS said that the army will continue to collaborate with the police and other security agencies and operate without reservations to ensure the safety and security of the country.
The COAS, who made the remarks on Monday at the roundtable with stakeholders in Abuja, assured that this would be done in a way that would be favourable to the country and its citizens. He called on Nigerians to support and trust the Army and other security agencies in their efforts to restore peace in the country.
“I assure you of AHQs commitment to the timely resolution of all insecurity issues in a manner that is favourable to the country and its citizens. The NA, in collaboration with its sister Services and other security agencies, will continue to operate without any reservations in ensuring the safety and security of the country for the needed development of all Nigerians.”
Lagbaja said, “Permit me to seize this opportunity to appeal to Nigerians to continue supporting the NA and other security agencies in their quest to bring lasting peace, which is necessary for sustainable development.
Read also: Insecurity: Lagbaja’s vision yielding positive results
He said “Security is a whole of society’s responsibility and all stakeholders must understand each other and start to build trust, confidence, and relationships with and among themselves. This, among other issues, should be part of what this Round Table needs to examine in its deliberations.”
Also speaking, the Executive Director, of Development Specs Academy, Prof. Okey Ikechukwu while noting that the efforts of the citizen soldiers have been significant, but their actions have been misunderstood, added that as a result, the citizens in some communities were no longer volunteering information to the soldiers.
He said, “Soldiers have been doing a lot but what they have been doing has been misunderstood. They are the target of hostile attention, most communities no longer give them intelligence. So you find the people whose lives depend on the information they get from communities not helping those who can help them secure their lives. That’s a very bad development.
“At a time we had little or no insecurity, is it because the security agencies were magicians? No, it is because people knew their responsibility to make information available but that is no longer happening. That is part of the crisis.”
