Defence

THE General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Olufemi Akinjobi, says strengthening inter-agency cooperation and capacity is vital to the success of counter-terrorism operations.

Akinjobi made the remarks on Friday at a seminar organised for members of Junior Course 95 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji.

The theme of the seminar was ‘Imperatives of joint Counter Terrorism, Counter Insurgency (CTCOIN) training for operational efficiency at the tactical level’.

The seminar is an annual event for mid-level officers of the armed forces and other security agencies as well as relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The GOC stressed that in countering the threats of insurgency and terrorism which Nigeria has battled for over 15 years, there must be very strong inter-agency cooperation.

“Maximum successes would not have been realised through the effort of any single service, hence the joint training,”  he added.

According to the GOC, joint training promotes unity of efforts, reduces wasteful duplications and helps to maximise core competencies of the various services.

“This ensures that one service leverages the strength of the other in the pursuit of a unified purpose.

“The current fight against terrorism and other forms of insurgency such as Operation Hadin Kai and Operation Hadarin Daji underscores this fact,” Akinjobi said.

He therefore urged the participants to take the lessons from the seminar seriously.

Akinjobi advised the college to harmonise the recommendations, observations and decisions reached into a working document and present it to appropriate authorities for approval and implementation.

Earlier, the Commandant of the College, AVM Emmanuel Wonah, said the seminar was a culmination of series of lectures packaged to broaden the knowledge of the students on the conduct of CTCOIN operations.

He said it was meant to engender deliberate and systematic approach in tackling insurgency and terrorism, as some of the participants would return to their theatres after the course.

Wonah said that the knowledge acquired would enable them to plan, execute and monitor progress of operations.

“In the course of this seminar, more perspectives will be provided by our resource persons to consolidate the lessons of earlier lectures.

“It is hoped that the seminar will bring out lessons that would assist the Armed Forces of Nigeria for seamless CTCOIN operations,” he added.(NAN)

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Tags: AVM Emmanuel Wonah Maj.-Gen. Olufemi Akinjobi