Boko Haram has killed 3,000 Nigerians so far - COAS

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika  yesterday put the number of causalities from the Boko Haram insurgency at 3,000, lamenting that the development has wreaked untold hardship on businesses in the northern part of the country.

Ihejirika , who made this disclosure at the start of the third inter-division and headquarters map reading competition organized by the Nigerian Army Education Corps (NAEC) in Ilorin, Kwara state, said the impact of the Boko Haram insurgence has forced the military to review its doctrines in order to meet current challenges.

The army boss who was represented by the General Officer, Commanding 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major Mohammed Abubakar nevertheless called for  collective and extra efforts from all Nigerians to tackle the menace.

He said: : “The changing nature of threats to Nigeria’s national security environment has manifested in the militancy, kidnapping, violent extremism and terrorism. It is a known fact that terrorism worldwide is characterized by extremism, violence, hatred, lack of respect for human dignity and constituted authority.

“The spate of bombings in parts of the north has necessitated the Nigerian Army to review its doctrine with a view to updating our training and operational procedures in order to fulfill our constitutional mandate. Success in this pursuit, therefore calls for renewed and concerted efforts and initiative.

“I, therefore, urge all of us to remain resilient to be able to overcome the miscreants and terrorist attacks on our psyche and our beloved country through conscientious effort for the country to make good progress.

It is in this line, that I commend the determination of NAEC to write and publish a book on terrorism. This will no doubt positively contribute to our determination to fight the present security challenges. The book will also serve as a reference material for researchers on NA viewpoint and strategy against domestic terrorism.”

In his welcome address, the Corps Commander, NAEC, Major-General Lucky Banjiram had also noted that the existing security challenges in the country has continued to undermine national security and consequently placed great strains and demands on available resources in the military.

 “It becomes necessary, therefore, to re-emphasise the need for training and retraining of army personnel”, Banjiram said, adding: “The competition is NAEC’s effort towards the training of its personnel and the creation of a pool of instructors in map reading for the Nigerian army.”

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Okada: Call your men to order, Lagos lawmakers tell CP

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday called on the State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko to call his men to order, given the way and manner they brutalise and harass commercial motorcyclists, popularly referred to as Okada riders.

This call was made through a motion moved by member representing Agege Constituency 1, Mudashiru Obasa, who called the attention of his colleagues to a recent media report in which it was alleged that an Okada rider was killed by an unidentified policeman at Pen Cinema.

Obasa also alleged that a motorcyclist was stripped naked by men of the police. According to him, "the fact that we have passed the law does not mean that the policemen should be harassing and brutalising the riders. We should call on the Commissioner of Police in the state to investigate these allegations and he should call the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Pen Cinema to call his men to order in that part of the state," he said.

Member representing Agege Constituency 2, Yinka Ogundimu, while lending his voice to the matter, disclosed that he witnessed such incident at Oba Akran area of the state, where an Okada rider who was trying to refuse arrest by the state Task Force, stripped himself naked.

On his part, Ipoola Omisore, member representing Ifako-Ijaiye 2 Constituency, insisted that the riders are trying to blackmail the government. "We should only tell the police to be careful with the way they are enforcing the law. They should enforce the law properly and not brutalise or harass the riders," he said.

 The Whip of the House, Razaq Balogun pointed out that the police need to acquaint themselves with the law.

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