In its determination to finally bury the challenges of insurgency and terrorists attacks on troops locations as well as communities and to take the fight to terrorist hideouts in the fringes of Lake Chad, the Nigerian Army has established a total of 20 Super Camps in the North East.
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai who made the disclosure at the opening of the 2nd and 3rd quarters COAS conference at the Command Officers Mess, Abuja, noted that more of the Super Camps will be established to ensure that armed the war on terror, armed banditry, kidnapping and other deadly security challenges are nipped in the bud.
Buratai said, “The aim of the Super Camp concept is to ensure higher capacity for swift mobility to take on the adversary, take the fight to them and deny terrorists, bandits, kidnappers the freedom of action”.
Towards this end, the COAS said more troops, more platforms, technical equipment like the MRAVs have been deployed to support the Super Camp concept, adding that the efforts are already yielding fruitful results.
Disclosing specifically that 7 units of Mines Resistant Armour Vehicles (MRAVs) produced by PROFORCE in conjunction with the Nigerian Army has been deployed to the Theater of operation in the North East; Buratai said more of such equipment would be deployed in due course.
To further energize the Super Camps with technical equipment, the Army Chief said the erstwhile Nigerian Army Workshop and the Nigerian Army vehicle plant have been merged as the Nigerian Army Command Engineering Depot to combine and come out with more mobility equipment for troops.
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Furthermore, the COAS said research and educational institutions of the Nigerian Army have been tasked to develop and produce anti-IEDs equipment to checkmate the recurring incidents of troops ambush and other such explosives attacks.
Commandants of Corp military training institutions like the Nigerian Defence Academy, Infantry Centre and School, etc, are also to review their curriculum to key into the new concept of Super Camps in military operations and other efforts at tackling and checkmating security challenges.
Buratai disclosed that the new Nigerian Army Intelligence extension recently built, which he commissioned, was equipped with modern intelligence and analysis equipment that will put security forces ahead of the adversaries.
“These will fast track the successful effort at overcoming the fight against terrorism and insurgency, banditry, kidnapping among others” he said.
On the recent incident in Taraba state where soldiers of 73 battalion opened fire and killed Police officers who had arrested a wanted kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala Wadume at Ibbi, the Army Chief announced that investigations into the have been concluded.
Noting that very decisive actions will be taken against those found wanting, Buratai said every necessary steps will be put in place to ensure that such incidents never happened again.
He charged Commanders at all levels to continue to educate personnel on the importance of inter service cooperation saying “In this regard, he said efforts would be stepped up to ensure better relations between the Nigerian Army and sister security agencies while improved civil-military relations would be enhanced.”
The 2 day conference has in attendance, Principal Staff Officers, General Officers Commanding, Commanders of Operational formations, NDA Commandant and Commandant of Corp military training institutions, Corps Commanders and MNJTF Force Commander among others.
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