KADUNA – The Nigerian Army on Wednesday began the training of 249 selected officers, paramilitary personnel and media practitioners on internal security and counter insurgency operations.
The Commandant, Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji, AVM John Ifemeje, flagged off the training code named “Haske Biyu”, holding in Jaji, Kaduna State.
Ifemeje said the training, which would last for 25 days, was designed to broaden the participants’ understanding of counter revolutionary warfare with emphasis on insurgency and terrorism.
He said it was also aimed at assessing the inter-agency cooperation during internal security operations, as well as the role of the media in counter-insurgency.
The commandant said the exercise would also provide a platform for cross fertilisation of ideas that would allow stakeholders in national security to develop sustainable crisis resolution mechanisms.
“The focus of this exercise is to agitate our minds and possibly serve as an input for the development of contingency plans and doctrine for internal security and counter insurgency operations.
“ You need to be very observant so that you report promptly any security breach during this period and beyond.
“This is in view of the current trends particularly when so much security agencies are mustered in a place.
“ Your disclosure of information to outside sources, movement, association and other actions should therefore reflect that of security personnel.”
Ifemeje also spoke on the role of media in combating terrorism and the promotion of peace.
“The media are partners in progress in the fight against terrorists and other crimes.
“So it is the media that would inform the public on what the government is doing towards fighting insurgency and other crimes.
“They play a vital role in all forms of internal security of any nation to pass the information down the ladder.”
On his part, the Director, Joint Studies of the college, Brig.-Gen. Benjamin Ohanatu, said that the training was in line with current security situation in the country.
“Acts of terrorism have become commonplace in Nigeria. It is apparent that most of the terrorist attacks in the country are targeted at the security forces, soft and vulnerable targets.
“The changing nature of security threats in the country, therefore, presupposes that a multi-agency approach would have to work better in order to be effective,’’ he said.
Ohanatu said that the training would further expose the participants to current security challenges, enable them to understand the nature of conflicts, insurgency and their methods of operation.
“ Understanding these will enhance cooperation and ‘inter-operability’ in the conduct of joint and multi-agency internal security operations and enable us to plan for the full range of contingencies against threats,’’ he said (NAN)
