TERRORISM: ARMY DRILLS PERSONNEL

ABUJA - Following the current state of insecurity in the country, Nigerian Army has said the preparation of Non-Commissioned Officers, NCOs, for challenges ahead was inevitable.

Chief of Staff, Army Headquarters' Garrison, Abuja, Brig-General Rufus Bamigboye,  stated this during a military drill of Warrant Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers.

Recall that threat of terrorists' attacks and Boko Haram bombings had necessitated massive deployment of troops in and around Abuja, with the Army HQ Garrison and Brigade of Guards ensuring a round-the-clock monitoring of all entry and exit routes of the Federal Capital Territory.

The exercise, which lasted two weeks, saw the soldiers partaking in 3.2kilometre dash, map reading, weapon handling, drill competition and obstacle crossing among others.

Brig-General Bamigboye said the 'essence of the exercise was to bring together all our Warrant Officers and Senior NCOs, with a view to testing their sharpness, agility and discipline.'

'We observe that by bringing them together, we have achieved a lot because the level of understanding and professionalism has increased.'

He said the expectation from the officers, mainly drawn from Army headquarters and departments as Military Police, Intelligence, Administration, Policy and Plans, Standards & Evaluation as well as Logistics, was for them to impact the knowledge gained to junior personnel.