Military more determined than ever to hunt down terrorists, says defence chief

Christopher Musa, chief of defence staff (CDS), says the military is more determined than ever to restore peace and stability in the country.

Musa spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at the defence headquarters psychological operations workshop.

The theme of the workshop is “Defence headquarters influence operations: Optimising psychological operations for efficiency in a joint environment”.

The defence chief said there is a need for enhanced non-kinetic activities, particularly psychological operations to shape the environment in favour of the ultimate aim of all ongoing operations.

According to him, the workshop was timely, given the evolving nature of modern warfare and the increasing importance of influencing perceptions, attitudes and behaviours.

He said Nigeria had in recent times grappled with complex security challenges and threats which had brought to the fore some occurrences that threaten the peace and security of the nation.

“These had undoubtedly continued to test the resolve of the Nigerian people and the capacity of security agencies to discharge their constitutional roles,” he noted.

The CDS said the tactics of the non-state actors of indiscriminate violence against innocent citizens had continually created fear and despair amongst the populace.

He added that the prevalent threats in the nation’s internal security landscape would not be tackled through kinetic operations alone, due largely to the continuous mutation in the nature and character of the challenges.

“This situation therefore presumes that the threat has since gone beyond purely traditional military actions but requires a combination of robust and well-coordinated non-kinetic efforts by all the stakeholders to support our kinetic actions,” Musa said.

“From the kinetic perspective, troops have continued to deny insurgents/terrorists freedom of action despite isolated attacks on troops’ locations.

“With the recent changes in some of the commands in the theatres, we expect new strategies to further destroy the capacities of the terrorists to attack troops’ locations and isolated communities.

“We are more than ever determined to go after all the non-state actors to restore peace and stability in the country.

“In the same vein, we need non-kinetic activities, particularly psychological operations, to shape the environment in favour of the ultimate aim of all ongoing operations.”

Mohammed Bulama, the director-general (DG) of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), urged the military and other security agencies to find ways to end the killings across the country and restore peace.

“The solutions and resolutions from the workshop would contribute to entrenching peace and stability in the country,” he said.