The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.- Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has made a fresh pledge to Nigerians over the state of insecurity in the country.
OsunDailyNG understands that the Army boss on Monday told Nigerians that the army and other security agencies would not fail in tackling the current security challenges in the country.
Lagbaja assured Nigerians, when he inaugurated the newly-constructed Headquarters of the 8 Division Nigerian Army Sokoto.
He said, “I must admit that the nation has faced some security challenges along the way, but the troops have been responding to these challenges across the country.
“We will continue to do all within our power to combat every security challenge confronting the country and meet the expectations of the country in providing a secure environment for economic activities to thrive.”
He, however, pleaded for the support of Nigerians, saying they could help by providing actionable information that could help them fight insecurity in the nation.
Lagbaja said that the construction of army formations was to bring the troops closer to the people for effective and timely response to any security threat, adding that the new barracks would enhance regimentation and coordination of responses to security challenges.
Meanwhile, an aircraft belonging to the Nigerian Air Force crashed on Monday.
According to sources that spoke with Punch on the development, the aircraft took off from Kaduna en route to Minna, the Niger state capital, when the incident occurred.
The Director of Public Relations and Information of the Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, in a statement, said the aircraft crashed in a village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger.
The statement read, “A Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed today, August 14, 2023, at about 1.1.00 pm Chukuba Village in Niger State
“The aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School en route to Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed near Chukuba Village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
Efforts are currently ongoing to rescue the crew and passengers on board the helicopter, while preliminary investigations have commenced to determine the probable cause of the crash.”
