Military more determined to go after terrorists –CDS

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has said that the military is more determined than ever to go after terrorists to restore peace and stability in the country.

Musa gave the assurance at the Defence Headquarters Psychological Operations Workshop, with the theme “Defence Headquarters Influence Operations: Optimising Psychological Operations for Efficiency in a Joint Environment”, yesterday in Abuja.

He said that there was need for enhanced non-kinetic activities, particularly psychological operations, to shape the environment in favour of the ultimate aim of all on-going operations.

According to him, the workshop is timely, given the evolving nature of modern warfare and the increasing importance of influencing perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours.

He said the nation had in recent times, grappled with complex security challenges and threats which had brought to the fore some occurrences that threaten the peace and security of the nation.

These, he added, had undoubtedly continued to test the resolve of the Nigerian people and the capacity of security agencies to discharge their constitutional roles.

The CDS said the tactics the non-state actors of indiscriminate violence against innocent citizens had continually created fear and despair amongst the populace. He said the prevalent threats in Nigeria’s internal security landscape would not be tackled through kinetic operations alone, due to the continuous mutation in the nature and character of the threats.

“This situation therefore,presumes that the threat has since gone beyond purely traditional military actions but requires a combination of robust and well-coordinated non-kinetic efforts by all the stakeholders to support our kinetic actions.

“From the kinetic perspective, troops have continued to deny insurgents/terrorists freedom of action despite isolated attacks on troops’ locations.

“With the recent changes in some of the commands in the theatres, we expect new strategies to further destroy the capacities of the terrorists to attack troops’ locations and isolated communities.

“We are more than ever determined to go after all the non-state actors to restore peace and stability in the country.

“In the same vein, we need non-kinetic activities, particularly psychological operations, to shape the environment in favour of the ultimate aim of all on-going operations,” he said.