The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja has vowed that the army will respond with force against unknown gunmen carrying military-grade weapons.

Lagbaja, who spoke at the Headquarters of 6 Division, Port Harcourt,Rivers State, on Thursday, July 11, said the response would be swift enough to protect innocent citizens from harm.

Lagbaja was at the 6 Division headquarters to inaugurate completed projects executed by the division’s General Officer Commanding (GOC), Maj.-Gen. Jamal Abdussalam and to close the Chief of Army Staff Second Commanding Officers’ Workshop, which began on Tuesday.

Lagbaja, who was accompanied by the Army Public Relations Officer, Brig. Gen. Nwachukwu, and other senior officers, said he had been touring the formations and units under the 6 Division since Wednesday.

He said the army would continue to respond to all security threats in the Southeast and other parts of the country in accordance with laid down procedures.

He said: “The Army will continue to respond to all those security threats in accordance with laid down constitutional provisions and the procedures in our book.

On his tour of military formations, he said: “Since yesterday (Wednesday) morning, I have been engaged in a tour of formations and units of the Nigerian Army under the 6 Division area of responsibility.

“I was in Uyo which is the 2nd Brigade area of responsibility. The security situation in this area of responsibility has generally improved; all thanks to the work that our troops are doing and the support of the stakeholders especially the government at the sub-national level and other critical stakeholders in our society.”

Lagbaja commended all stakeholders in the region for their support of the troops especially in the provision of timely information.

He said it was evident from the deliberations conducted during the workshop and the briefs he received that the objectives of the summit had been achieved.

Lagbaja said commanding officers were key in the accomplishment of his command philosophy to transform the Nigerian Army into a well-trained and highly motivated force towards achieving constitutional responsibilities in a joint environment.

He said they were trained to understand their contemporary command environment characterized by technological advancements, social media culture, high population rate, and its associated unemployment, amongst others.

“You must be mindful of the character of the generation coming into the Nigerian Army and be ingenious in administering the laid down administrative policies and regulations. To do this effectively, I encourage you to keep abreast of technological developments, utilize readily available resources and strengthen information and communication technology training in your units.

“Deliberate efforts must be made to continuously identify the tasks, threats, and standards required to operate effectively in your respective areas or responsibility in order to reach specific measurable levels of performance.

“As senior training leaders, you must be directly involved in all training activities and take a keen interest in the development of opinion leaders. Training at unit and unit levels requires thorough supervision,” he added.

He congratulates the Chief of Training Army, GOC 6 Division, and the organizing committee for a well-organized and highly successful workshop.

He said: “I also commend resource persons and all participants for their quality incisive contributions, which have elicited far-reaching decisions during the job. I assure you that all key recommendations and ideas emanating from this workshop will be given due consideration by the Army headquarters.” (The Nation)