As Part of a strategic plan to boost military operations against terrorists, particularly in areas around the Lake Chad Basin, the Nigerian army has established a new division in the northern part of Borno.
This was disclosed by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, today, January 13, while delivering a lecture titled: `Nigerian Army: Challenges and Future Perspectives’, at the National Defence College, Abuja, Today.ng reports.
The army also said plans were underway to establish another division to be known as the Nigerian Army 6 Division with Headquarters in the South-South region of the country.
He said the establishment of the new divisions was part of a strategic plan to improve on the operational capabilities of the Nigerian Army, following the rise in threats to national security.
“We have established the 8 division located in the northern part of Borno specifically to clear the area of the remaining terrorists elements while another division, 6 Division, will be established in the South-South,’’ he said.
According to him, the establishment of the additional formations would bring the number of divisions in the Nigerian Army to eight.
Though he did not give details of the new establishment, he said the division would soon become fully operational with logistics and manpower deployments.
He added that 12,000 personnel would be recruited in 2016 alone to fill the vacancies created as a result of the new establishments in the army.
Buratai stated that the Nigerian army was committed to curbing the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, adding that their focus was to find lasting solutions to the threats posed by the activities of the armed groups and their allies.
He cited the Special Forces Training Centre in Buni Yadi in Yobe, one of the theatres of the Boko Haram war, as an indication of the army’s determination to end insurgency.
Buratai said the army planned to increase its personnel strength from its present 100,000 strength-force to slightly above 200,000 in the next eight years as the contemporary national security needs and Nigeria’s territorial size required more than the army presently had in terms of personnel strength.
Recall that the Nigerian army had in August 2013 established the 7th Infantry Division in Maiduguri. It was established for the war against Boko Haram to boost the military’s counter-insurgency operation in the North-East. The creation of the new division brought to six the Army divisions in the country. The Nigerian Army already had 1st Division with headquarters in Kaduna, 2nd Division with headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo state, 3rd Armoured Division with headquarters in Lagos, 81 Division with headquarters in Lagos and 82 Division with headquarters in Enugu.
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