By Suleiman Shehu
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, says the media remains a key partner in the non-kinetic operations of the Nigerian Army in addressing security challenges confronting Nigeria.
Lagbaja said this on Wednesday in Ibadan during the Nigerian Army Civil-Military Cooperation Media Chat for the 2023 Third Quarter.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event had the theme “Leveraging Media to Enhance Nigeria’s Internal Security Operations”.
Lagbaja, represented by Maj.-Gen. Bamidele Alabi, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division Nigerian Army, Ibadan, stated that the chat was aimed at keeping the media informed.
“The chat is aimed at dispeling rumours and provide accurate and timely information to the media as an important segment of nation-building,” he said.
The COAS added that the media chat was very important, especially at this period when the country was battling with a myriad of internal security challenges.
“The Nigerian Army under my leadership has adopted a multi-dimensional approach requiring the collaboration of all, especially the media, in confronting these challenges.
“Thus, a forum such as this media chat is important for a more detailed examination of issues that relate to the Nigerian Army, in order to provide context and other perspectives to the issues.
“Traditionally, the media keeps the society informed of events as they occur, including military operations. It interprets the military to society.
“The military on the other hand is concerned with the successful conduct of its missions which may require the maintenance of operational security required to win wars,” he said.
Lagbaja said further that advancement in information and communication technology and the rise of the new media had opened new vista in media practice.
He pointed out that this has blurred the line between professional media practitioners and amateurs who practise the trade without ethics or responsibility.
“This has changed the dynamics in the media practice to keep society informed and it has also placed an added burden of helping separate genuine news from fake news.
“A media chat, such as this, is an opportunity to dispel rumours, interrogate issues relating to the Army and debunk fake news,” the COAS said.
He noted that the security environment in Nigeria has drastically evolved such that the Nigerian Army is deployed to combat terrorists, insurgents and other criminals in all parts of the country.
“Therefore, the successful conduct of Army operations requires the support and efforts of the people,” Lagbaja said.
The COAS said Nigeria required a healthy military-media relationship.
“This is in order to create a positive perception that will sustain popular support for the Army’s counter-terrorism operations and other operations conducted to secure the country and protect innocent citizens.
“The media remains a key partner in our non-kinetic line of operations for the security of the country.
“So, the Nigerian Army will continue to train and equip its forces to carry out kinetic operations in compliance with the approved rules of engagement and code of conduct for various theatres, within and outside the country,” he said.
Lagbaja added that the the Nigerian Army under his leadership had put in place robust strategies across all lines of operations.
He said this was to ensure that the security challenges in the country were resolved favourably within the shortest possible time.
Earlier, the Army’s Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Maj.-Gen. Nosakhare Ugbo, had said the Nigerian Army had continued to strengthen the civil-military relationship in Nigeria and had achieved results.
Ugbo said the Nigerian Army had established a civil-military legal desk to address any human rights abuse by troops during operations and other duties.
“The legal desk has received, investigated and treated 95 percent of a thousand complaints received since 2016 and two percent of it is being investigated while the remaining three percent were discharged for lack of merit,” he said.
The event’s Guest Speaker, retired Maj.-Gen. Bamidele Omozoje, called on the Nigerian Army to continue to liaise with the media in its operations in order to prevent misrepresentation and rumour.(NAN)
