General Lagbaja said the location of Exercise STILL WATERS III indicates that it is not a drill or mere training exercise but a real-life military operations with a robust Rule of Engagement (ROE) that has been designed to meet the challenges of the contemporary security environment in the South-South and South-West zones.
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He lamented that the South-South and South-West zones of Nigeria are confronted with piracy, illegal oil bunkering, pipeline vandalism, cultism, militancy, and other related crimes that threaten Nigeria’s collective peace and economic activities, adding that , “these threats to our national security have assumed a dangerous dimension, warranting prolonged military deployments in aid of civil authority torestore law and order. Unfortunately, the hitherto episodic military deployment in aid of civil authority has become somewhat unending, with almost every community requesting permanent military deployments to secure lives and properties”
The Army Chief said that the force had been,“hindered by the challenge of finite resources in terms of manpower and combat enablers, noting that, the Nigerian Army had continued to modify its concepts of operations to manage these genuine demands for troop deployment.
“One such strategy for striking a balance between demand for troops deployment and available resources is conducting NODUF or real-life exercises. The majority of these exercises are usually conducted annually, in the last quarter, as part of the Nigerian Army’s efforts to, together with its sister services, support the civil authorities in managing the spike in criminal activities often associated with year-end activities.
The Chief of Army Staff said that in order to achieve maximum effects across the Country, the Nigerian Army would simultaneously conduct two other exercises with Exercise STILL WATERS III this year. These exercises are Exercise ENDURING PEACE III in the North-Central States of Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa, as well as the Federal Capital Territory and Exercise GOLDEN DAWN II in the South East zone.
He said that the primary goal of these exercises is to create a conducive environment for socio-economic activities to flourish in the last quarter of the year and enable people to celebrate the season without fear.
The exercises would equally afford the Nigerian Army to practice its formations and units in Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW) as part of strategy to support the civil authority to eliminate all forms of threat to security across the Country.
His words: “As I flag off Exercise STILL WATERS III, which also signifies the commencement of Exercise ENDURING PEACE III and Exercise GOLDEN DAWN II, I implore commanders at all levels and their men to be guided by the laid down Rules of Engagement. Nigerian Army personnel must understand that we are out to help solve a problem and not become a problem to the society we are out to support.
“Therefore, troops must conduct themselves properly and professionally and be exemplary in discharging their duties, commanders must, in line with our operational design, ensure that their kinetic line of operations to decimate criminals in their Areas of Responsibility is suitably complemented by a carefully designed non-kinetic line of operation in the form of Civil-Military Cooperation activities that aims to win the hearts and minds of the civilian population in their areas.”
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