Ex-Army Chief Tasks Top Officers On Tactics of War Against Terrorists

The immediate past Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Kenneth Minimah on Monday tasked top senior army officers to work out measures other than conventional tactics that would provide adequate responses to the new tactics of the terrorists.

General Minimah gave the charge at the opening of 2nd Quarter COAS Conference held in Abuja following renewed attacks on soft targets by the terrorists, shortly before his retirement was announced by the presidency in the afternoon

Minimah noted that the ability of the terrorists to face gallant troops had been seriously degraded such that they (terrorists) have resorted to attacking innocent and vulnerable citizens in markets and places of worship.

“I therefore urge you to use the opportunity offered by this Conference to deliberate on measures to enable the Nigerian Army to synergize with sister services, security agencies and paramilitary organisations to adequately respond to these new tactics of the terrorists,” he said.

He stressed that the Conference should help the army to be better prepared for future events and essentially to add more impetus to offensive targeting the last enclaves and camps of the terrorists.

Minimah said that the military had in the last few months achieved tremendous success in reclaiming all previously occupied territories from the terrorists, but said he was not sure if the terrorists had all fled their hitherto fortress in Sambisa forest in Borno State.

General Minimah also urged the senior officers to use the conference to x-ray army performance during the last general election so as to draw lessons for Kogi and Bayelsa states governorship election scheduled for November and December this year respectively.

He hailed Nigerians for rising up in the true spirit of patriotism and nationalism in support of the Nigerian Army in the war against terrorism, adding that with support of President Muhammadu Buhari, victory over the Boko Haram Terrorists was in sight.

Earlier in his welcome address the Chief of Policy and Plans, Army Headquarters, Major General Ugo Buzugbe, said that the conference was to appraise the army’s performance and challenges in internal security operations.