• Reveals plan to introduce more combat equipment

 

From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri

The Nigerian military will not allow terrorists, bandits, and other violent armed groups to destroy the country and the social and economic life of the people, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen Olufemi Oluyede has vowed.

Gen Oluyede made the vow while addressing army operation commanders and senior officers at the closing of the three-day COAS bi-annual conference in Maiduguri, capital of Borno, on Friday.

“We are faced with an adversary that threatens the very fabric of our sociocultural heritage. They seek to disrupt our way of life and destroy the society that our forefathers built. We will not allow such to happen,” he declared.

He announced plans by the Nigerian Army to introduce more combat equipment in the various military operations across the country to step up troops’ efficiency.

 

He however maintained that success in any warfare depends on troops’ commitment and determination to the call of duty.

“We need to understand that the strength of the Nigerian Army does not solely lie in the weapons we place on the battlefield, but more in the will of our soldiers who wield them,” he declared.

He urged commanders and senior army officers to show exemplary leadership by mentoring and providing guidance to young officers and soldiers in the service.

The army chief earlier commissioned five newly acquired All-Terrain Combat Vehicles for the use of troops on battlefields in extremely difficult terrain in the Northeast.

The vehicles called Vanquisher were made locally to give military troops access to the terrorists’ enclaves, camps and Tumbu, mostly located in hard-to-reach areas, especially in Borno State, the epicentre of terrorist attacks.

According to the Managing Director of the production company, Mr Zach Duwa, the vehicles are equipped with night vision cameras, which allow the troops to “traverse in pitch dark night” to their objectives.

Pic: Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Olufemi Oluyede commissions the All-Terrain combat Vehicles newly acquired by the Nigerian Army to boost troops’ operations against terrorists in Borno