Insecurity in the North West was made complex by activities of non-state actors who engage in banditry, kidnappings, cattle rustling, illegal mining and violent attacks on innocent citizens.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, said this at the opening of a three-day Retreat for Past and Present Commanders of Nigerian Army Operations in North West, on Monday in Abuja.
The retreat with the theme, “Reappraising the Nigerian Army’s Approach to Tackling Insecurity in the North West,” was held at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Abuja.
The COAS was represented by the Chief of Operations, Maj.-Gen. Benson Sinjen.
These activities, he said, had led to destruction of lives, properties and means of livelihoods.
According to him, activities of these non-state actors have continued to impact the security environment across the country, in spite of unrelenting efforts to curb the trend by the army, sister services and other security agencies.
The COAS said surmounting insecurity in the North West region needed periodic review of the situation with a view to truly understand the generality and specifics for seamless planning and executing of operations.
The threats, according to him, are always fluid and evolving, thus requiring them to quickly adapt to be at least a step ahead of the adversary.
Lagbaja said the retreat would provide opportunity for operational and tactical level commanders to step away from their normal routines in the field and theatres of operations.
The Director General, NARC, retired Maj.-Gen. Garba Wahab, said any operation that lasts beyond six months was subject to a review or after action review, adding that the North West operation had lasted for years.
Wahab said there was a need to bring both the past and present commanders of the operations to come together to proffer strong and profound solutions to the issue of operations, administration, logistics and intelligence collaboration.
He said the centre believed that bringing the commanders together would assist in getting new ideas and solutions towards creating an enabling environment in the area.
According to him, the military cannot solve the problem completely, but it should provide an enabling environment for other activities to take place.
