Tinubu: Nigerian Will Win War against Adversaries

*Unprovoked killing of military personnel unhealthy for national security, says DHQ

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has declared that the the nation will win the war against insecurity.
He said the nation’s adversaries were wrong in their calculations that the country will give in to intimidation.
This came as Defence Headquarters (DHQ) stated that the killing of military personnel by citizens had become worrisome to the military high command and unhealthy for national security.
It made a quick reference to the killing of 17 military personnel in Okuama in Delta State and a recent attack on soldiers at the Banex Plaza in Abuja.
It said such conduct lowers the morale of troops.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of the five-storey complex of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) Headquarters in Asokoro, Abuja, Tinubu, who was represented by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said the country was presently faced with security threats which he vowed to contain.
He said his confidence was anchored on the unwavering commitment of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the intelligence agencies, including the DSS, NIA and of course the DIA.
The president said he had made the task of securing every inch of the country a priority, adding that he had no intention to back down on the sacred duty.
He said that DIA was a key agency in the security architecture of the country that primarily provides intelligence to the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence.
“Since we became an independent nation about 64 years ago, except for the period of the civil war spanning 1967 all the way to 1970, at no time have we been faced by multiple threats than in recent times.
“We not only face physical threats, but also economic and digital threats.
“In our bid to combat physical threats, we deploy the armed forces in almost all the areas to assist the civil authorities
“Some of the other threats you will have to contend with behind your computers using, if necessary, artificial intelligence, enabling our military to know the position of the enemies or the games they are up to,” he asserted.
“At no time have we been faced with security threats such as we have today. We face digital threats, other threats
“Our adversaries got our DNA wrong. We will never give in to our adversaries. We will win”, he said.
He pledged that government “will provide you with welfare and requirements to succeed. I commend past and present military leadership for completing this edifice”.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Maj Gen Emmanuel Undiandeye, said the agency had since establishment, diligently carried out its assigned responsibilities of intelligence gathering and provision of timely and appropriate actions for the military and strategic national decision-making.
Undiandeye emphasised the place of intelligence as a critical tool of statecraft that provides the necessary foreknowledge to protect the nation from surprise attacks, either through hostile foreign military or internal challenges.
He said that certain factors and conditions such as conducive working environment of the operators of the system, were required to allow effective functioning of the agency.
The intelligence chief said the completion and inauguration of the agency’s new headquarters marked a significant milestone in the journey towards enhancing its performance in intelligence provisioning for better national defence and security.
“This building stands as a testament to the fulfillment of the cardinal requirements of the staff of this agency for optimal performance of their duties.
“The agency is taking a bold and ambitious step by initiating what we call the Defence Intelligence Agency Technology Center in preparation for the current and future challenges and warfare”, he said.
“This is in order to give our nation a chance of survival in the fast approaching complex world of technology.
“Therefore, we have started incorporating artificial intelligence and data analytics into our processes in a flexible and scalable manner until we graduate into full implementation of all of the processes,” Undiandeye said.
Defence Headquarters (DHQ) declared yesterday that the killing of military personnel by citizens had become worrisome and unhealthy to the military high command.
It made a quick reference to the killing of 17 military personnel in Okuama in Delta State and a recent attack on soldiers at the Banex Plaza in Abuja.
It said such conduct lowers the morale of troops.
At a media briefing in Abuja, Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Maj Gen Edward Buba, said “the unprovoked killings of 17 personnel in Okuama in Delta State, coupled with the recent assault of unarmed personnel in Banex Plaza in Abuja is worrisome and leaves much to be desired.
“These occurrences are unhealthy for our national security, counter productive and amount to self sabotage”, he said.
“Surely, it is no way to treat any human, certainly not a military personnel that places self in harms way to protect citizens or to safeguard the nation.
“The military has demonstrated high sense of discipline and professionalism in the face of the untoward attacks. Our professionalism must not be mistaken for weakness”, he said.
Buba further stated: “indeed, we know that to win this war, we needs the support of people. We also hope that the people would equally realise that, they need the military to win the war to guarantee their safety.
“Accordingly, it goes is without saying that this must not repeat itself as it jeopardizes our common interest. If troops err, report them and the military justice system will address the matter.
“We are at war, and citizens must realise that they also have a responsibility by their actions and utterances to support troops to keep the morale and fighting spirit of troops at optimal at all times.
“During otherwise is unpatriotic and amounts to self sabotage. Overall, we would continue to fight until the terrorists is defeated on the battlefield and help our nation flourish again”.