Good governance is required to end terrorism – CDS

As part of efforts to boost the morale of the forces, the CDS disclosed that starting this year, the annual Armed Forces Remembrance Day shall be changed to Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day in order to reward the gallantry of existing combatants. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa has attributed the delay in winning the war against terrorism to the absence of good governance at the sub-national levels. He said the armed forces’ efforts must be complemented by good governance at the federal, state, and local government levels. He also revealed that the armed forces is mainstreaming welfare packages to motivate the combatants. In that regard, he said there is a proposal to change the annual Armed Forces Remembrance Day to Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day. READ ALSO: Kano Emirate Tussle: Kingmaker appeals Court of Appeal Judgement He said the name change is informed by the objective “of celebrating both the dead and the living.” According to him, “this year’s event of Armed Forces Day entails celebrating those combatants on active duty, families of the deceased and the dead officers.” Speaking this morning on Arise TV’s The Morning Show, General Musa said a situation where some Nigerians live in conditions that make it seem like they are not part of an organised modern society makes them vulnerable to the manipulation of those that come to recruit them into violent crimes like terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping. The CDS therefore, calls on leaders at the sub-national levels to up their games to make it sync with governance efforts at the federal level. “So when you go and see people living in a manner as if they are not part of an organised modern society, they will be open to other interests to manipulate,” he said. Another factor, he said had made the war to linger is the access of the terrorists to foreign funding. He said the Nigerian armed forces had found a cache of foreign currencies on some of the arrested terrorists. In a bid to eliminate this causative factor, he said the armed forces are collaborating with relevant government agencies to track the source of these funds. “So, that’s the oxygen we want to cut off,” the CDS disclosed. READ ALSO: Ahead of Mid-term: Emerging Signs Favourable for the Tinubu Presidency General Musa also cited “the nature of the enemy the army is dealing with” as another reason why the war on terror has lingered. According to him, the enemy appears like every normal citizen. He explained that this was the reason the army adopted “the non-kinetic approach that is based on the understanding that the war can not be fought by the armed forces alone but by all citizens and other stakeholders.” “Also, there are saboteurs who provide support for the non-state actors just to make it seem as though Nigeria is ungovernable.” General Musa disclosed that it was based on these discoveries that the country is working closely with countries in the Sahel to fortify the international boundaries. He said the window was still open on the possibility of convincing the three member countries that recently left the ECOWAS to reconsider their stance.

Prof Jega, 5 Others Warn President Tinubu against Signing Defense pact with America, France

Nigeria is at the verge of commiting another major political blunder as its leadership is under intense pressure to sign a defense pact that may undermine her sovereignty, complete with all the daunting security implications. When signed this pact will enable the redeployment of American and French soldiers that were recently expelled from three countries in the Sahel region to Nigeria and a few other countries in the gulf of Guinea. Towards this end, it has been reported that the leadership of Nigeria is currently under intense lobby to give a nod to this plan. Sensing that President Ahmed Bola Tinubu may cave-in to the lobby, former INEC Chairman and notable academic, Prof Attahiru Jega and some civil society heavy lifters of Northern extraction penned an open letter to president Tinubu yesterday to dissuade him from nursing any positive thoughts of saying ‘aye’ to the plan. Apart from Prof Jega, the other authors of the open letter comprised of Abubakar Siddique Mohammed of the Centre for Democratic Development, Research and Training (CEDDERT), Zaria; Kabiru Sulaiman Chafe, Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP), Kaduna; Jibrin Ibrahim Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Abuja; Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Abuja; and Y. Z. Ya’u, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in Kano. They argued that “Nigerians have consistently opposed defense agreement with foreign countries since the 1960s when the Balewa administration was forced to abrogate the Anglo-Nigerian Defense Agreement because the agreement contained a clause which allowed the Royal Airforce to overfly and test its aircrafts in Nigeria.” They further contended that another reason, which remains valid till this day, why the late Prime Minister was compelled to abrogate the agreement was that it was considered as an “impairment of Nigeria’s freedom of action” as sustaining such agreement could drag the country into a war against its wish. The group advanced other compelling reasons, backed by numerous internationally documented cases, to insist that President Tinubu, whom they suspect seemed favourably disposed, must not sign the pact. For instance, they argued that allowing the American and French troops, which were recently flushed out from Niger to resettle in Nigeria would be a major affront that could conflict relations between the two brother nations which were merely separated by colonial demarcation. Citing the claim by one of Nigeria’s most successful foreign affairs ministers, late Gen Joseph Garba, they argued, “Nigeria’s neighbors are a matter of colonial heritage and socio-cultural diversity; but it is in our Nigeria’s interest to deliberately cultivate the friendship of our neighbours.” The group therefore pleaded with President Tinubu not to yield to the immense pressure being put on him to sign the pact because of numerous other downsides that include the bad blood that it may breed between Nigeria and its immediate neighbours and other friendly nations from the Eastern bloc. The group therefore, advised that the president should not further encumber the current tense security situation of Nigeria by introducing a foreign element into the troubling mix.

Senate Joint C’ttee Holds Closed Meeting With Service Chiefs Over Killing Of 16 Soldiers…Security takes precedence over other sectors – Lawan

The Senate Joint Committee on Defence, Army, Navy and Airforce is currently in a closed meeting with the nation’s Service Chiefs over the recent killing of troops in Okuoma community, Bomadi local government area of Delta State. The meeting which started at exactly 3:42pm has in attendance, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan; and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla. Recall that the Senate, during plenary on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, mandated the joint committee to investigate the incident. The upper chamber also urged the federal government to ensure that those responsible for the heinous crime are identified, apprehended and brought to justice. The Joint Committee is chaired by Senator Ahmad Lawan, who is also Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence. Moments before the commencement of the meeting with the Service Chiefs, members of the Joint Committee observed a minute silence in honour of the 16 Military personnel killed in Okuoma community last Thursday. Speaking on the incident, Senator Lawan in a speech delivered at the investigative hearing by the Joint Committee recalled that, “The troops of 181 Amphibious battalion, on Thursday, 14 March, 2024, went on a peace mission to Okuoma Community in Delta State. An incident occurred resulting in the loss of a Commanding officer, two Majors, a Captain and 12 Soldiers during the peace mission. “The troops on the peace mission to Okuoma community in Bomadi local government area of Delta State were surrounded by some community youths, which resulted in the death of officers and men. “Acknowledging the gravity of the attack on the military personnel, the Senate at its plenary on Tuesday, 19th March, 2024, mandated the Joint Committee on Defence, Army, Navy and Airforce to investigate the incident. “The Senate also urged urged the federal government to ensure that those responsible for the heinous crime are identified, apprehended and brought to justice.” Senator Lawan further underscored the need for the federal government to prioritise the issue of security, noting that same takes precedence over investment in any other sector. He described the killing of the 16 soldiers as “barbaric”, and appealed to Nigerians to support the Armed Forces by volunteering information that would lead to the capture and prosecution of those behind various forms of insecurity across the country. The former Senate President said, “We, in the Senate, and, indeed, the National Assembly, will always support our military in whatever way we can. [And] the National Assembly has that history. We try to at all times make meaningful appropriation for resources to be available. We know it has never been enough and, in fact, I will take this opportunity to commend our Armed Forces for doing so much with the little we can afford. “The insecurity in our country takes precedence over any other consideration and, therefore, it is the position of the Senate that no investment in any sector can be more important than ensuring that we are secured as a country. “We, therefore, are very sad as a parliament over this tragic incident. It is our hope in the Senate that those who perpetrated this barbaric and horrific act are captured and the law takes full course on them. “I want to appeal to Nigerians that this is our Armed Forces and they cannot secure us without us as citizens playing our part. Therefore, every citizen is supposed to support our Armed Forces. And those in the area where this incident happened must volunteer information because this is the only way we can stop something like this from happening another time.”

Terrorists Launch Fresh Attack On Kaduna Community

Terrorists, on Saturday, launched a fresh attack on the Dogon-noma community in the Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The attack is coming barely three days after one person was killed, and eight women were kidnapped in the Banono Angwaku community of the same local government. A former chairman of the local government, Cafra Caino, confirmed the fresh attack to our correspondent on Saturday. According to him, the attackers invaded the village around 5.45am on Saturday in large numbers, shooting indiscriminately. Caino said, “We are yet to get the number of casualties because the locals ran for their lives at the time the assailants invaded the community. “The community had, some time in 2019, come under heavy attack where 74 people were killed and the community recently has been experiencing attacks.”

Military Issues Stern Warning Against Calls for Coup Amid Economic Hardship

In response to social media discussions calling for a coup due to economic challenges, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has issued a stern warning.  He emphasized that those advocating for a coup “do not love Nigeria” and stated that the Armed Forces are committed to protecting democracy. Speaking at the commissioning of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army entrance in Port Harcourt, General Musa urged citizens to be patient, support the government, and trust that the country will overcome its current difficulties.  He emphasized that democracy is crucial, and any attempt to undermine it is considered as the work of “evil people” who will face legal consequences. “Whoever is making that call (coup) does not love Nigeria. We want to make it very clear that the Armed Forces of Nigeria are here to protect democracy. We all want democracy and we do better under democracy,” he said. “And so we will continue to support democracy. And any of those ones that are calling for anything other than Democracy are evil people and I think they don’t mean well for Nigeria. “And they should be very careful because the law will come after them. We can see that with democracy a lot of things are happening in Nigeria. Yes we are going through trying periods, I mean in life nothing is hundred percent.” He emphasized that what is needed is for citizens to be patient and give their support to the government to succeed and put the enemies of state to shame. “Everybody goes through a trying period in life, and it is what you do with them. You can see the government putting efforts to ensure that we come out better. And it is when you go through difficulties and come out better you will really appreciate what it is to build a nation. And so we are going through our trying period, but I can assure Nigerians that it will get better. “All we need is for all of us to put our hands together to ensure that we defeat those enemies of the government, those enemies of this country that don’t want us to succeed. We will surely succeed and the Armed Forces are here to support the Government in ensuring that we develop, we succeed and to see that there is peace in Nigeria.”

We’re Committed To Ending Insecurity In Nigeria –CDS

The Chief of Depence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa has restated commitment of the Nigerian Armed Forces to end security challenges in the country. Musa stated this during a condolence visit to the Emir of Zazau, Malam Ahmed Bamalli, at the weekend in Zaria, Kaduna State. He assured that the security challenges facing the country would soon be a thing of past, and sought for prayers for the military to succeed. Musa accompanied by some top military officers commiserated with the over the death of eight worshippers, who died in a mosque collapse. The CDS conveyed the condolence of the Armed Forces and prayed for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives in the tragic incident. He said: “I am in Kaduna for the Passing-out parade at Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, but felt I should take time out to pay you this condolence visit. “As a father to me and the entire north, I count on your support and prayers so that we succeed in our various operations. “I was here severally, I was in here in Zaria as the Commandant, Nigerian Army, Depot, and now as a Chief of Defence Staff, to God be the glory”. On August 11, eight worshipers died and 25 others sustained injuries sequel to the collapsed of a section of the 150-year-old Zaria Central Mosque during a congregational prayer session. Responding, Bamalli expressed gratitude for the visit and commended President Bola Tinubu for finding Gen. Musa worthy of the appointment. Bamalli noted that though the appointment was strictly base on merit, Mr President however deserves applaud from the entire people of Kaduna State for choosing a competent military officer from the state to serve in such capacity. He expressed hope that security challenges in parts of the country would be addressed under the present administration. The royal father said the council and the people of the state would continue to pray for the CDS and the government to succeed.