The Nigeria Army (NA), has warned its troops that it would deal heavily with any personnel caught involved in illegal arms and ammunition dealings.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division of the Nigerian Army (NA) and Commander Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH), Major General Ibrahim Ali, gave the warning on Wednesday, 28 September, 2022.
TheFact Daily reports that the proliferation of illegal weapons has been identified as one of the major reasons for the widespread insecurity across Nigeria with many killed and kidnapped on daily basis. More worrisome is the fact that those tasked with the responsibility of safeguarding the nation are the ones involved in the unwholesome illegal dealings, evidenced in cases where soldiers have been caught in the act of selling and supplying arms to bandits and terrorists.
Major General Ali, during the inauguration ceremony of participants of Arms and Ammunition Storeman Refresher Course in Jos, stressed that the scourge of insecurity in the country must be tackled through training and retraining of personnel to enable them effectively secure the lives and property of law abiding citizens.
He averred that, the training was organised in line with the COAS vision of having “A Professional Nigerian Army Ready to Accomplish Assigned Missions Within a Joint Environment in the Defence of Nigeria”, and emphasized on the need for troops to seek knowledge for a better living.
The GOC further said that the course will enable armourers and potential armourers to be versatile in the area of arms and ammunition management within the Nigerian Army and their units, and urged the participants to justify the confidence reposed on them by their formations/units by giving their best during the training.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Commander,3 Division Ordnance Services, Brigadier General SA Alamu, said, the training on Ammunition and Storeman Refresher Course was aimed at training the participants on both theoretical and practical roles and responsibilities of an armourer.
He further charged the participants to be very adaptive, hardworking, open minded and ready to learn.
A total of 30 participants drawn from various units and formations within 3 Division were inaugurated and the course was expected to last till 4 October 2022.
