•UK trains Nigerian soldiers
From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
A major shake-up has been effected in the military command of the counter-insurgency operation in the North East, with the deployment of Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Lucky Irabor and acting General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu.
Irabor assumed duty in February 2016, succeeding Major General Yashau Abubakar, former commander and Director of Training and Operations at the Army Headquarters, who later died in an auto-crash on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, along Damaturu Highway, in Yobe State.
Irabor confirmed his deployment to Daily Sun, yesterday, but did not give details.
Regardless, Military Control and Command Centre of the counter-insurgency/terrorism operation said Irabor has been deployed to the headquarters of the African regional military cooperation, Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in Ndjamena, capital of the Republic of Chad, to take over from Major General Lamidi Adeosun, who once commanded the theatre in Maiduguri.
Ibrahim Attahiru, a major general at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, will take over from Irabor on June 1.
Ezegwu is reputed for leading the operation to liberate the commercial town of Mubi, in Adamawa State and some communities in the area.
Some officers and soldiers told Daily Sun they would miss the two commanders “for their dedication and friendly disposition.” Also, some journalists said their brief service at the theatre shaped the relationship between media practitioners in the state and the military.
“They demonstrated capacity to accommodate critical views and were eager to work with journalists throughout their stay here. We enjoy support through capacity building workshops among others. Gen. Irabor was particularly an exceptional officer,” Borno State Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Baba Sheik Haruna added.
Meanwhile, British Military Advisory Train the Trainer Team has completed training of 250 instructors of the Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria on combating contemporary security challenges.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony in Zaria, leader of the team, Col. Will Hilton said the aim was to imbue the participants with necessary knowledge to train others.
Hilton, who applauded the participants for their hard work, reminded them that a basic tool set had been given to them as instructors.
He said in the last four weeks of the training, the team had been impressed by the instructors’ aggression, enthusiasm and ability to quickly assimilate innovation.Commandant, Depot Nigerian Army, Brig-Gen. Christopher Musa thanked the team for their professionalism.