Civilian safety, human rights issues demand special consideration, says COAS

The protection of people and their fundamental rights, according to Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff, requires special attention because it consumes a lot of the time of field commanders.

He pointed out that the service involves interacting with human rights advocacy organizations in all operational theaters to make sure the concerns are well-understood and implemented.

Lagbaja gave a speech on Wednesday in Abuja at a military event with the theme “National Security and the Complexities of Human Rights.”

Maj. Gen. Jimmy Akpor, the Chief of Administration Army, who was acting on behalf of Lagbaja, said that the Army was prepared to carry out operations in accordance with legal and established rules of engagement.

“The Nigerian Army Human Rights Seminar was conceptualized to engage organizations, security agencies, the media, and other stakeholders involved in human rights advocacy and the protection of civilians in crisis regions on the concerns relating to human rights during conflicts,” according to Lagbaja. Since it consumes a significant amount of the time of field commanders, the protection of people and their fundamental rights demands special attention.

“While conducting operations to address ethnic and occupation-based issues in the North Central region of the country, our troops are also deployed to checkmate the actions of the separatist IPOB in the Southeast. Additionally, there are conflicts with militancy, cultism, oil theft, and a variety of well-armed criminals in the South-South and South West.

These deployments call for cooperation between security services and all well-intentioned people and organizations and utilize both kinetic and non-kinetic measures. I would want to stress that because the operations are carried out in inhabited civilian areas, securing a nation within the parameters of the current security environment necessitates mobilizing the efforts of citizens in a “whole of the nation approach.”

This facet of warfare and conflict management necessitates the utilization of other actors’ potentials within the complex operating environment. The goal of my command philosophy is to make the Nigerian Army into a well-trained, well-equipped, and highly motivated force that fulfills our constitutional obligations in a cooperative setting.