The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, reiterated the army’s commitment to strengthening the troops’ capacity to combat insurgency.
Speaking at the opening of the 2025 Combat Arms Training Week in Bauchi, Oluyede assured the public that the Nigerian Army is focused on improving its operational effectiveness in tackling the insurgency.
Oluyede said, “This will be done by infusing necessary capabilities into our training schedules to better prepare them to adapt to dynamic situations and position us more effectively to counter threats to national security.”
He emphasised that success in this regard hinged on providing timely logistics and prioritizing troop welfare.
The Army chief added that the Nigerian Army would continue to improve strategic communications, bridge capability gaps, sustain innovative leadership and leverage support from the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force and other security agencies.
Oluyede pledged the Army’s commitment to mitigating security challenges across the country, stating that it would continue to adopt new methods aligned with international best practices to strengthen operational capacity and fulfill constitutional responsibilities.
He added that the Combat Arms Training Week was more than a doctrinal exercise, describing it as a critical platform for improving operational effectiveness in conflict zones, particularly in the North East and North West.
“The lessons learned from the field, along with inter-corps collaboration fostered through this training week, will directly translate into more coordinated and impactful operations,” Oluyede said.
Also speaking at the event, Commander of the Armoured Corps, Major General Obinna Ajunwa, noted that this year’s training themed, ‘Strengthening Combat Arms Cooperation in a Joint Environment: A Prerequisite for Success in Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency Operations’, would provide a forum to address critical issues facing the combat arms and the Nigerian Army as a whole.
The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, represented by his deputy, Auwal Jatau, stressed the need for both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to tackle Nigeria’s evolving security challenges, including terrorism, banditry, insurgency, and communal unrest.
“The current security challenges are complex and dynamic. “They demand multidimensional strategies and stronger synergy among security stakeholders,” the governor said.
