The Nigerian Army has announced plans to launch three training exercises nationwide to counter the increasing incidents of criminality during the upcoming Yuletide season, with a particular focus on the South-East, South-South, South-West, and North-Central regions of the country.
Brig-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director of Army Public Relations, disclosed this during a briefing with journalists on Friday. The exercises, codenamed ‘GOLDEN DAWN III’ in the South-East, ‘ENDURING PEACE III’ in the North-Central, and ‘STILL WATERS III’ in the South-South and South-West, will be formally inaugurated by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, at a later date.
These exercises are designed to enhance both individual and collective professional competence among military personnel and will seamlessly transition into real-time operations to address the unique security challenges prevalent in the respective geopolitical zones.
Exercise GOLDEN DAWN III in the South-East is primarily aimed at tackling issues such as armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, communal clashes, and other related crimes that tend to escalate during the Yuletide season when many citizens return home for celebrations. The focus will be on improving intelligence gathering and facilitating a proactive response to criminal activities.
In the North-Central, Exercise ENDURING PEACE III will address challenges such as farmer-herder conflicts, cattle rustling, banditry, kidnapping, ethno-religious conflicts, and terrorism. Troops will receive training in various skills, including hostage rescue operations, intelligence-driven raids, and coordination with sister services and security agencies.
For the South-South and South-West regions, Exercise STILL WATERS III will target issues like cultism, robbery, kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, and economic sabotage. The exercise will also prioritize the protection of critical infrastructure and will involve advanced surveillance techniques, rapid response tactics, and the use of technology to combat pipeline vandalism and economic sabotage.
The Nigerian Army emphasized the importance of collaboration and synergy among various security agencies, including the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and Nigeria Customs Service. Joint training exercises and intelligence sharing will be vital components of their strategy.
The Nigerian Army remains fully committed to addressing emerging security challenges across the country, and through these upcoming training exercises, they aim to enhance troop capabilities, foster synergy with sister services and other security agencies, and ultimately ensure the safety and security of the Nigerian populace.