Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya, the Chief of Army Staff, yesterday issued a severe caution to violent groups across the country to stop endangering the security of the country because the army would use all of its resources to neutralise any threats made against Nigeria.
At the inaugural event of the Chief of Army Staff First Quarter Conference 2023 in Abuja, Yahaya, who issued the caution, also indicated that actions against saboteurs had increased crude output to 1.3 million barrels per day.
In a connected development, the Nigerian Navy yesterday revealed new postings and the transfer of senior officers in what it described as a normal restructuring operation after senior officers were promoted.
In the wake of the general election, the Department of State Services recently warned that some political players were planning to press for the formation of a temporary national government to weaken the civil rule.
Although the development has prompted responses from various groups in the nation, the Labour Party explicitly stated that it had nothing to do with the DSS allegations, particularly since it had chosen the judicial route to pursue restitution.
However, Yahaya stated yesterday that the calm conduct of the general election across the country, including in the South-east, was a testimony to the Nigerian Army’s determination to guarantee security in the entire nation.
Yahaya pointed out that the Nigerian Army, along with other forces and agencies, ensured the success of the general elections through the effective execution of Operation Safe Conduct 2023 across the country.
He said: “Even though long before the polls, IPOB/ESN and their followers had warned that there would be no elections in the zone, our extra efforts through Joint Task Force Operation Udoka paid off in the South-east, guaranteeing smooth elections in the area as well.
Therefore, elections were effectively conducted in the South-east, just like in other regions of the nation. In general, our activities and firm countermeasures against the criminal forces have improved regional security and instilled trust in the Southeast’s law-following people.
The COAS also mentioned the admirable performance of the soldiers stationed in the South-South area for Operation Delta Safe.
He said, “The renewed combined operations’ efforts in the area have resulted in the finding and demolition of several illicit oil processing sites as well as the apprehension of criminal suspects.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stated that as of March 2023, “These anti-illegal bunkering operations have significantly increased crude oil production in the country to over 1.3 million barrels per day.”
He claimed that the federal government had also recognised the efforts in a communication to the soldiers that the Minister of State for Petroleum and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had both given. (NNPC).
The COAS applauded field leaders, officers, and troops for their efforts, pledges, and devotion to duty in ensuring the accomplishment of numerous missions across the nation.
He mentioned that the Army Headquarters’ efforts to tour units and give talks on “Introspection of Past Experiences and Efforts at Improving NA Support to Ops Safe Conduct 2023” were successful in producing the intended results.
“I am pleased to report that numerous organizations, groups, and notable people have praised the efforts made by our soldiers during the general election of 2023. The terrorist attacks and unrest that had previously plagued the northeast region of the nation have undoubtedly been considerably reduced thanks to our efforts in Operation Hadin Kai in collaboration with the sister services and other security agencies, he said.
Yahaya stated that it had been successful for the army to “continually inject specially trained troops and special equipment through Operations Lake Sanity and Desert Sanity to complement efforts by Operation Hadin Kai.” The lack of freedom of movement by the militants and rebels has, among other positive effects, led to a huge submission of the opponents who are not approved of this document.
“As anticipated, these measures have helped military composure, the security environment, and popular trust in the Northeast. It is known that Nigeria achieved its greatest performance against terrorists since 2011 last year (2022). To put it another way, Nigeria earned its best ranking against terrorism in the previous 11 years, from 2011 to the present, in 2022.
However, the army commander praised soldiers and staff for their accomplishments to date.
This is truly a praiseworthy endeavour and accomplishment by all of you, the other sibling agencies, partners, and even our capable forebears, he said. These endeavours are remarkable, but we won’t give up. Instead, we are putting even more effort into building these achievements so that we can totally eliminate any rebels who refuse to submit.
Yahaya reassured the people of Nigeria that the Nigerian Army would continue to work to protect the commonwealth of the country. He said, “We are now even more resolute to sustain the ongoing efforts to ensure maximum revenue accrues to government coffers from oil explorations in the South-South region.”
He insisted that the Nigerian Army would keep up its statutory obligations in cooperation with other local security units and civic officials.
