Lt-General OA Ihejirika
The chief of Army Staff, Lt General OA Ihejirika had directed that all non Military personnel residing in all army barracks be ordered to leave the Barracks immediately.
The Army chief said this while speaking to the press at the closing ceremony of the annual COAS Conference in Asaba.
In his reaction to the growing insecurity in the Barracks, the Chief of Army staff said : “All illegal civilians and those above 18 years should vacate the barracks immediately in view of the security situation in the country. Any Commander that fails to flush out these persons should be ready to face serious sanction.”
Boasting on his plans to fight terrorism, he said “Nigerians should expect more comprehensive action by the military and all the security agencies.Some of the moves the army has initiates include that unit commanders should liaise more, supervise and monitor their personnel more closely than they have done in the past. So 2013 would be decisive.”He ordered that all Internal Security vehicles must be painted in Army colour in order to avoid blackmails such as the one the army suffered recently from Reuters International news agency.
He said “The Nigerian Army is dealing with enemies who have no other business but to plan mayhem, destruction and murder from morning to night.”
Speaking on accommodation in the military barracks, he said that since he took charge as the army boss last two years , 435 officers’ quarters and 6,337 accommodation meant for the soldiers had been renovated and further assured that over 10,000 soldiers and officers’ accommodation would be put to standard in 2013.
Speaking on the porous security in different Barracks, while making Jaji a reference point, the Army boss said: “Yes, several of our barracks are not fenced but in the last two years, we must have fenced four barracks. But we are talking about may be 80 barracks that are not fenced.”
“Doing that will entail a lot of resources, a lot of support which the current budget may not contain. But again whether barracks is fenced or not, it does not serve as excuse for any commander to allow what happened to happen. But one thing I would say is that the lack of fence compounds the challenge.
“Now, every commander must think of ways of ensuring that what happened in Jaji does not happen. What is important is that you have put in your best in terms of planning, in terms of security measures, in terms of intelligence. Even when barracks are fenced, fences could be climbed, houses could be broken up, and we are not going to fence cities.
“What it means is that fencing of barracks would not be the only solution but it would aid security. A board of inquiry has been set up by the Nigerian Army and another one by the Defence Headquarters. With these, two inquiries with various terms of reference, I believe that a number of revelations will come up which will further help us to ensure that such a thing does not come up again.
On lack of intelligence amongst security operatives which has been discussed lately in the media, he defends the Army thus “The Nigerian Army works in collaboration with other services. We work hour by hour, and day to day with the SSS. We also receive support from the Nigerian Intelligence Agency. Apart from that, there are also certain international bodies that also relates with us.
“You are also aware of my visit to the Inspector General of Police. We also agreed on ways of enhancing intelligence collection and then dissemination. The conference also emphasized the need for national intelligence fusion. What it means is that all the various measures are going to be fast tracked to ensure that intelligence is further enhanced.
“You should know that it is a running battle because the people you are fighting are people within the country who know what measures you are even taking to checkmate their terrorist activities. That is why I also drew the attention of commanders on the need for them to, on a continuous basis, devise new tactics in dealing with the problem”.
He asserted that a committee would be set up to monitor the Commanders at the fronts, saying that responsibility of commandants was one area they must emphasise henceforth.
Responding to whether some officers would be relieved for poor performance regarding the current development, he said “That one is obvious. I have already informed Commanders and they know. They should not wait for the Chief of Army Staff before taking action along the line’.
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