Army Chief Decries Drug Abuse Among Soldiers Fighting Terrorists

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has condemned the rising cases of drug abuse among soldiers deployed in the various theatres of operation.

Lagbaja raised the concern in Sokoto on Tuesday while declaring open a one-day seminar on warrior ethos, with the theme “Optimising Warrior Ethos in the Nigerian Army: A Panacea for Operational Effectiveness,” organised by the Department of Army Transformation and Innovation.

The COAS expressed the hope that the seminar would address the issue of drug abuse among soldiers, among other issues.

He promised assured troops of Operation Hadarin Daji in Sokoto State of continued support in the provision of needed logistics and guidance for the success of their operations.

Represented by the acting General Officer Commanding, 8 Division, Brig. Gen. Ibikunle Ajose, the COAS said, “I can assure you of my continuous support to provide the much-needed logistics and guidance required for the execution of your tasks.

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“The Nigerian Army has continued to review its tactics, techniques and procedures in order to come up with both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies to defeat these challenges.

“This seminar was, therefore, premised on the need to improve the capacity of the Nigerian Army personnel towards enhancing warrior ethos and the battle-winning mentality.

“It will also highlight the threats of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism in Nigeria.

“In addition, the prevailing incidence of drug and substance abuse among troops deployed in theatres of operation has become quite worrisome and necessitates troops’ awareness in a bid to enhance combat effectiveness.”

Lagbaja urged commanders at all levels to continue to come up with innovative ideas to upscale their approaches towards improving man management and battle readiness, which, he said, was in line with his command philosophy for the Nigerian Army.

“I implore you all to remain innovative and committed. By so doing, you will have helped to raise the standard that the Nigerian Army requires to deliver on its constitutional mandate. This event is, therefore, timely and will avail participants a better understanding of the key issues to improve on operational effectiveness,” Lagbaja added.