Armed Forces Committed to Tackling Insecurity, Says Irabor

By Kingsley Nwezeh

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, said yesterday that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), remained committed to tackling the myriad of security threats confronting the nation.

Irabor made the disclosure at the Chief of Defence Staff Interactive Session with Retired Senior Military Officers in the North Central geopolitical zone held at the Tactical Air Command (TAC), Nigerian Air Force, Makurdi, Benue State.

According to the CDS, “The military as an institution remains at the forefront of leading the war against every form of criminalities as the constitution avails the AFN the mandate of supporting civil authorities, which is in this case championed by the Nigeria Police.”

He explained that the one-day security parley was in continuation of the nationwide consultation and engagements with military veterans towards proffering lasting solutions to the perilous security challenges.

The CDS, while admitting that the manifestation of the wave of insecurity in the North Central occasioned by farmers/herders and communal clashes, said the ongoing military engagement was crucial and as such required the input of its veterans towards sustainable peace and progress.

He urged the senior citizens, whom he described as military officers even in retirement to be open-minded in proffering suggestions to the security threats, promising that there would be interventions in the security dispositions in the North Central and the entire nation.

In his remarks, the Chief of Defence Civil Military Cooperation (CDCIMIC), Rear Admiral Fredrick Ugo, said the CDS security parley with retired senior military across the six geo-political zones, was to identify the threats in terms of intensity and peculiarities with a view to solving the challenges.

Ugo recalled that the maiden edition of the CDS security parley was held in the South-west zone while the second and third editions took place in the North-west and South-east geopolitical zones.

Also, the Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Tactical Air Command (TAC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Idi Lubo, who acknowledged the critical roles being played by military veterans in the defence and security sectors, was optimistic that critical issues bothering on intelligence gathering, information sharing and security management would dominate discussion during the close-door session.

The AOC expressed the commitment of the command in sustaining the ongoing synergy with sister services and other security agencies towards ensuring peace and stability in the zone, noting that the AFN was leveraging the support and goodwill of the people in tackling security challenges in the region.

AVM Lubo said the command was actively participating in the various theatres, including Operation Hadin Kai in the North East, Operation Delta Safe in the South South, Operation Hadarin Daji in the North West, as well as Operation Whirl Stroke and Safe Heaven in the North-central.

He further attributed the recent successes being achieved in the theatres to the collaborative efforts among the various security agencies, which he said was in line with the CDS leadership’s focus of fostering a professional Armed Forces capable of effectively meeting constitutional imperatives.