LOGISTICS, INFORMATION HINDER OPERATION - ARMY

The Nigerian Army says lack of logistics as well as adequate information from the public is hindering the success of its Internal Security Operation (ISO) in some states of the federation.

The army authorities therefore called on members of the public with adequate information especially with regards to the case of Plateau and Borno states that were engulfed in crisis to come up with useful information with a view to bring the crisis to a halt.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Azubuike Onyeabor Ihejirika who made this known at his maiden meeting with Defence Correspondents in his office in Abuja, also said the army had put in place adequate measures to curb the Jos crisis and the Boko Haram religious sect in Maiduguri, Borno State.

Ihejirika while maintaining that soldiers deployed to Jos had succeeded in their operation at restoring normalcy to the state, said the army authorities had put in place stiffer security measures to arrest those behind the crisis.

Such measures include launching deep into the hinterland where most of the miscreants were suspected to be coming from rather than mounting checkpoints within the metropolis.

The meeting, which was attended by all the Principal Staff Officers (PSOs), at the Army Headquarters, saw the Chief of Training and Operations (CTOP), Major General Lawrence Ngubane briefing the Defence Correspondents about some of the army operations carried out so far in the country.

Ngubane, who said the Nigerian Army had deployed over 17,000 soldiers for ISO in the country, pointed out that lack of logistics such as vehicles, communication equipment and tracking devices, among others made it difficult for the troops to effectively carry out its operations.

Major General Ngubane said: 'As at today, the Nigerian Army has deployed over 17,000 personnel in Internal Security Operations. And as we carry out all these operations there are a lot of challenges and that is about getting information from the civil populace that will help us particularly in the case of Boko Haram.

'We need information but we are not getting that support very much. And of course we have our logistics problems here and there which the Chief of Army Staff is doing everything possible to address.

'When I talk of logistics I am talking in terms of vehicles, communication equipment, tracking devices and what have you. All these things are required to assist the troops in carrying out these operations very well.'