We Are Not Trained To Fight Bandits, Boko Haram – Chief of Defence

While the security situation in the country has continued to worsen, it seems there is no help in sight as the Nigerian Army has explained why it is playing catch-up with terrorist and insurgents.

According to the Defence Chief, “the federal government did not train its soldiers to fight asymmetric warfare”.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, however, disclosed that the armed forces were developing new capabilities essential in tackling the security challenges across the country.

Mr Irabo stated this Wednesday night at a dinner held in honour of officers of the Senior Course 43 of Command and Staff College Jaji, Kaduna.

“Our involvement in containing asymmetric security threats in the past few years has highlighted the need to acquire new operational capability of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to deal with emergent threats.

“As you are aware, asymmetric warfare encourages the use of non-traditional military tactics, for which our previous training and operational doctrines were not well suited.

“Accordingly, we are developing new capabilities in intelligence and surveillance, which are critical for staying ahead of terrorists and insurgents, and other criminal elements in the society,” he said.

He explained that the use of Special Forces Units had proved to be critical in asymmetric warfare because of several unique capabilities it could bring into combat.

The CDS further noted that the armed forces would continue to review their training curriculum to accommodate new platforms, maintaining that their involvement in managing internal crises required a complex interplay of factors that military and security practitioners needed to focus on.

He pointed out that a major determinant in winning an asymmetric war was for troops to understand the dynamics that defined the crises to make decisions effectively.

The participants of Senior Course 43 underwent 11 months of training at the college.