Military boosts joint efforts to address rising instability

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The Nigerian Army has advocated inter-agency collaboration among government-recognised security agencies to address the myriad security challenges confronting the country.

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The challenges range from militancy in the South to insurgency and terrorism in the North-East, and banditry and kidnapping for ransom in the North-Central and North-West geopolitical zones, respectively.

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The Commander, 4 Special Forces Command, Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Maj Gen Olurotimi Awolo, stated this on Monday during the opening ceremony of the week-long Command Operations Planning Cadre 2026.

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Maj Gen Awolo noted that each form of insecurity presents unique challenges requiring specialised training for security personnel operating in the affected areas.

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He said the topics selected for the training were carefully designed to equip security personnel, particularly those operating within the 4 Special Forces Area of Responsibility, with the operational knowledge needed to tackle challenges peculiar to their areas of deployment.

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The commander further said the training programme, themed “Tactical Leadership Capacity Building and Multi-Agency Approach to Asymmetric Operations in Joint Operations Area,” was timely, considering the nature of operations currently being undertaken by the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies across the country.

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He added, “It is pertinent to bring to the fore that participants for this cadre were drawn from formations and units of the armed forces and other relevant security agencies within the regions that form our AOR.

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“The essence of including other security agencies in this training programme stems from the understanding that confronting the numerous security challenges across the nation requires integrated collaboration among all relevant stakeholders in the security domain.

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“This also conforms with the command philosophy of the Chief of Army Staff, which is to ‘advance the transformation of the Nigerian Army into a more professional, adaptable, combat-ready and resilient force capable of decisively discharging its constitutional responsibilities within a joint and multi-agency environment.”

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Awolo urged participants to pay close attention to all the presentations during the cadre.

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He expressed gratitude, on behalf of the officers and personnel of the command, to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Waidi Shaibu, for his leadership and unwavering support.

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“Without the COAS’s approval and funding, this cadre would not have become a reality,” he said.

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He also thanked the resource persons, senior officers and other invited guests who not only found time to attend the cadre but were also willing to share their wealth of experience with the participants.

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