The Nigerian Army is set to begin three training exercises across the country to enhance security during the forthcoming Yuletide, particularly in South-East, South-South, South-West, and North-Central zones.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, while briefing journalists say the exercises codenamed ‘GOLDEN DAWN III’ in the South-East, ‘ENDURING PEACE III’ in the North-Central, and ‘STILL WATERS III’ in the South-South and South-West, will be formally launched by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja in the coming days.
He said the exercises were designed to improve individual and collective professional competence and will dovetail into real-time operations to tackle various peculiar security challenges in the designated geo-political zones.
Brigadier- General Nwachukwu explained that exercise GOLDEN DAWN III, taking place in the South-East, is aimed at tackling security challenges such as armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, communal clashes and sundry crimes which usually become more pronounced in the build-up to the Yuletide, when many citizens return home to celebrate, adding that the exercise will focus on enhancing the capabilities of troops in intelligence gathering and effective and proactive response.
He described exercise ENDURING PEACE III, taking place in the North-Central, as designed to address farmer-herder conflicts, cattle rustling, banditry, kidnapping, ethno-religious conflicts and terrorism, adding that the exercise will equip troops with the necessary skills to combat banditry, including hostage rescue operations, intelligence-driven raids, and effective coordination with other security agencies.
Exercise STILL WATERS III, taking place in the South-South and South-West, will target cultism, robbery and kidnapping and will also strive to address the challenges of pipeline vandalism and other forms of economic sabotage with a focus on securing critical infrastructure.
Editor Oloyede Oworu
