“2 Million Security Personnel Can’t Protect Over 200 Million Nigerians”: COAS Lagbaja Explains
- The Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, has maintained that it is challenging to secure a large population with limited personnel but the army remains committed
- He expressed the need for every citizen to get involved in the security of lives and properties in the country and not leave it only to the security agencies
- Lagbaja said inadequate funding of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) was significantly affecting the military’s operational performance
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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
Taoreed Lagbaja, the chief of army staff, has said that it is unrealistic for two million security personnel to protect a population of over 200 million Nigerians.
Source: Twitter
Lagbaja made this assertion on Tuesday, September 24, during the 2024 distinguished personality lecture in Ilorin, Kwara state capital.
“In a country of over 200 million people, it is unrealistic to expect security agencies, totalling around two million, including an army of just over 100,000 active personnel without a reserve force, to secure the entire population,” Lagbaja said.
As reported by The Cable, the COAS, who was represented by the Chief of Army Training, Sanni Mohammed, highlighted the military’s heavy reliance on imported defence equipment due to the country’s weak industrial base.
How inadequate funding affects security agencies
The army chief also expressed concerns over the inadequate funding of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, AFN, which he said significantly affected the military’s operational performance, Vanguard reported
“We import over 90 percent of our military needs,” he said, noting that despite some local production efforts, the country’s dependence on foreign military supplies remains overwhelming.
The army chief also expressed concerns over the inadequate funding of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), which he said significantly affecting the military’s operational performance.
“The pursuit of national development alongside national security is a costly endeavour, as defence policy is capital-intensive,” he said.
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Nigerian army reacts to alleged resignation of COAS
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian army dismissed reports claiming that Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, the chief of army staff, had resigned from his position.
The defence headquarters quashed an online report alleging that Lagbaja had submitted his resignation letter to President Bola Tinubu.
Top army official, Major-general Onyema Nwachukwu, labelled the report as “fake news” and urged the general public to disregard it.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
