COAS tasks 280 Command, Staff College Jaji graduands to uphold rules of engagement
Group photograph of graduands of course participants of Junior Course 93 of Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji on Friday in Kaduna
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya has tasked 280 Armed Forces Command and Staff College’s (AFCSC) graduands of Junior Course 93 to uphold the Armed Forces Acts.
Yahaya also charged them to uphold the standard operating procedures and rules of engagement in discharging their constitutional duties.
Addressing the graduands on Friday at the AFCSC, in Jaji, Kaduna State, the COAS said upholding the tenets is of utmost importance, especially in the current electioneering season which is often characterised by controversies and must be avoided at all costs.
He said the Junior Course was structured to lay a solid foundation and prepare the officers for tactical level field and staff work.
He noted that the Junior Course curriculum is constantly being reviewed to enable mid-career officers to cope with the ever-changing nature of warfare which has recently witnessed manifestations such as insurgency, terrorism, militancy, and banditry amongst others.
Yahaya further said that cyberspace has become a formidable operational domain in which the Armed Forces must dominate to avert cyber terrorism and invasion of our national databases.
“In a similar vein, the media has become a veritable platform used by dissident groups to propagate secessionist agenda and promote discord.
“We must therefore apply the skills acquired to effectively counter false narratives, propaganda, and fake news, especially on social media,” he said.
Yahaya urged them to apply the skills and knowledge acquired from packages such as estimate process, counter-terrorism, and counter-insurgency operations, peace support operations, media awareness, and disaster management for efficient service delivery.
He also urge them to apply the skills obtained from practices in planning and execution of joint as well as combined operations at the tactical level which culminated in all their exercises in all operational tasks.
Earlier, the Commandant of AFCSC, AVM Olurotimi Tuwase, said the Junior Course was characterised by intense field training and academic activities designed to develop the Command, analytical and communication skills of junior officers.
He said the essence was to equip them to efficiently operate during single service, joint, multi-agency, and combined operations towards the accomplishment of their constitutional roles.
He tasked them with building on the knowledge they gained, through practice, self-development, perseverance, tact, and intuition to further reposition themselves for the tasks ahead.
“You will require these attributes to effectively tackle the contemporary security challenges across the country in aid of civil authority to enhance national security,” Tuwase said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the officers who were from the rank of Captains and equivalent comprised the Nigerian Armed Forces, armed forces of African nations as well as officers from paramilitary organizations, ministries, departments, and agencies.
They comprised 129 from the Nigerian Army, 59 from the Navy, 75 from the Nigerian Air Force, and eight international students from African countries which included; Benin Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Togo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cote d’Ivoire.
