…Buhari says Army stronger, has 60,000 more troops, armament
…as ISWAP/Boko Haram brace up for fresh engagements
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor says the country requires much more than military intervention to deal with the complex forms of insecurity it is faced with and that the transition has started.
This is as insurgent groups Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) and Boko Haram engage each other in fighting, in preparation for escalated and sustained attacks from the Nigerian military, which typically occurs every time there is a change of government in the country.
In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari says the fighting power of the Nigerian Army has increased significantly under his administration, with 60,000 more troops and the acquisition of strategic arms and armament, making it the fourth in ranking among African militaries, as against seventh in 2015.
Irabor advocates an “All Of Society Approach” comprising multi-sectoral and specialised efforts and involving all of society.
He says: “The country has been grappling with various forms of insecurity in the past decade, which include terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes, oil theft, piracy, drug and human trafficking, illegal unregulated and unreported fishing and cybercrimes, among others.
Irabor’s position is particularly telling, as Nigeria prepares for a change of administrations in government in May.
Buhari says since he was sworn in as the President in 2015 he has facilitated the recruitment of over 60,000 soldiers for the Nigerian army, asides thousands of commissioned officers from the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna.
According to him, this administration has achieved remarkable transformation of the military in the areas of fighting power, training, operations, manpower, remunerations and medical services.
Chief of Defence Staff, Irabor says the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) have reviewed their strategies and policies and given prominence to the whole of society approach, to ensure effective attainment of military goals and national development objectives.
Irabor made this statement on Thursday in Abuja, at a two-day workshop on “Use of Broadcasting in Complementing the Military in Conflict Mitigation and Management”.
He was represented by Rear Admiral Tanko Pani, Director of Training, Defence Headquarters.
“The approach involves the participation of the government, security agencies, civil organisations, religious leaders, traditional leaders, the press and the general public,” he says.
He adds that the military has been recording successes in the fight against terrorists and other non-state actors in the last decade.
“Recently, the FGN adopted a non-kinetic approach by developing a policy framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (NAPPCVE).
Irabor explained that the Non-Kinetic military operations involved the use of psychological, diplomatic negotiations and economic sanctions to achieve military objectives.
He added that it included civil military operations, cyber warfare, covert intelligence operations and media operations, among others.
“These operations can be used in combination with each other or with traditional military action to achieve specific objectives.
“They are often used in situations where traditional military activities are either not feasible or not appropriate.”
On the insurgency front, ISWAP and Boko Haram have been engaged in bitter battles for control of areas close to Nigeriia’s borders with neighbouring countries in the north, which allow for speedy escape and access to arms, in anticipation of stepped up attack by the military.
The Nigerian military typically steps up attacks against the insurgents soon after changes of government, security sources say.
The armed clashes between ISWAP and Boko Haram are further increasing the number of insurgents surrendering to the Nigerian military and freeing up captive territory for a return to normal life, proper governance and productive economic activity, security sources say.
We are further informed however, that both insurgency groups have been fighting for the control of strategic spaces in the north-east of Nigeria and environs, which are relatively easy to defend and from which they can easily slip across state borders into foreign territory, should they come under expected heavy attacks from the Nigerian military.
It is said that the insurgents are also fighting to be near their armories which are believed to mostly be inside of or close to the border areas of Niger Republic, Cameroun, Nigeria, Chad and Benin Republic.
They are also taking advantage of the erosion in intensity of the defence pact existing between Nigeria, Niger Republic, Cameroun, Chad and Benin Republic.
The pact is said to have lost steam since April 2021 following the death President Idris Deby of Chad in who was its prime motivator and arrowhead.
More than 35,000 people have been killed in northern Nigeria since 2009 when Boko Haram launched its insurgency aimed at overthrowing Nigeria’s secular government and establishing an Islamic state.
As of July 2022, the Boko Haram conflict has caused the displacement of about 2.2 million people in the Northeast, the vast majority–over 1.8 million—in Borno State. The conflict also displaced over 280,000 refugees from the Northeast into three neighboring countries—Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
