The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has advocated a healthy military-media relationship in Nigeria, to create a positive perception that would sustain support for the Army’s counter-terrorism operations and other operations to secure the country and protect innocent citizens.
The COAS said this was necessary as the media remains a key partner in the Army’s non-kinetic line of operation for the nation’s security.
Gen. Lagbaja stated this in his opening remarks at the Nigerian Army Media Chat for the Third Quarter 2023, held at the Tiger’s Mess, Agodi, Ibadan, Oyo State on Wednesday.
The theme of the Media Chat is: “Leveraging Media to Enhance Nigeria’s Internal Security Operations.”
Gen. Lagbaja, who was represented by the General Officer Commanding, 2 Division, Major General Bamidele Alabi, described the Media Chat as part of civil-military cooperation activities aimed at keeping the fourth estate of the realm informed, dispelling rumours and providing accurate and timely information to the media as an important segment of nation building.
He also said that the Media Chat is part of the civil-military cooperation activities aimed at keeping the fourth estate of the realm informed, dispelling rumours and providing accurate and timely information to the media as an important segment of nation-building.
Noting the myriad of internal security challenges the nation is inundated with at the current time, the Army Chief disclosed that the Nigerian Army, under his leadership, has adopted a multi-dimensional approach requiring the collaboration of all, especially the media, in confronting the challenges.
He stressed the importance of the media chat for a more detailed examination of issues related to the Nigerian Army, to provide context and other perspectives.
Gen Lagbaja said: “Traditionally, the media keeps society informed of events, including military operations. They interpret the military as a society.
“The military, on the other hand, is concerned with the successful conduct of its missions, which may require the maintenance of operational security required to win wars.
“However, a good part of the interface between the media and the military involves the reportage of routine military activities and the conduct of military personnel in peacetime.”
He spoke on advances in information and communication technology and the rise of the new media, which opened a new vista in media practice, noting that it had blurred the line between professional media practitioners and amateurs who practise the trade without ethics or responsibility.
“This has changed the dynamics in the media practice to keep society informed and placed an added burden to help separate genuine news from fake news.
“Thus, a media chat such as this is an opportunity to dispel rumours, interrogate issues relating to the Army and debunk fake news,” the Army Chief said.
He pointed out the security environment in Nigeria, which had drastically evolved such that the Nigerian Army is deployed to combat terrorists, insurgents and other criminals in all parts of the country.
He said that the successful conduct of these operations requires the support and efforts of the people, hence the need for a healthy military-media relationship.
Gen Lagbaja assured on the Nigerian Army’s continuous training and equipping its forces to carry out kinetic operations in compliance with the approved rules of engagement and code of conduct for various theatres, within and outside the country.
He said that the Nigerian Army under his leadership had emplaced robust strategies across all lines of operations to ensure that the security challenges in the country were resolved favourably in the shortest possible time.
In his welcome remarks, the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Major General Nosakhare, highlighted the purpose of the media chat, which is to provide an opportunity for the Nigerian Army to engage with various communication experts for better understanding, and to chart a mutually beneficial relationship to improve media reportage.
According to Major General Ugbo, the event is held quarterly as part of the Nigerian Army’s efforts to inform the media of its civil-military cooperation and relations activities to eliminate rumours and provide accurate and timely information in line with international best practices.
He said that the Media Chat is also an aspect of the non-kinetic line of operations as the constitutional mandate, the reason the Nigerian Army had continually placed measures to strengthen the civil-military relationship in Nigeria.
“The Army has achieved this through enhanced civil-military cooperation activities, effective liaison, visits to relevant stakeholders, advocacy and mediation, and seminars.
“In addition, the Army conducts workshops and conferences with different strata of the Nigerian society. Within the Nigerian Army, deliberate efforts have been institutionalized to enhance professionalism among troops towards achieving our constitutionals responsibilities,” he said.
To strengthen the civil-military relationship, he said that the Nigerian Army had open avenues for feedbacks to ensure that it continues to improve on its tactics, techniques and procedures and also address complaints and abuses, if there is any.
To this end, Major General Ugbo disclosed that the Nigerian Army in 2026, put in place the Civil-Military Legal Desk to address issues relating to human rights violations and abuses by troops during operations and other duties.
“It is pertinent to state that the Legal Desk has so far received, investigated and treated over 95 percent of over a thousand complaints since its introduction in 2016. Two percent of these complaints are still being investigated, while the remaining three percent were discarded for lack of merit.
“Additionally, the Nigerian Army has a dedicated toll-free line for members of the public to provide any information that would aid and improve the conduct of our operations,” the civil-military affairs chief said.
He added that the Chief of Army Staff had directed the placement of suggestions and complaints boxes at easily accessible locations within our formations and units to enable members of the public interface with the Nigerian Army authorities at all levels.
Present at the programme were heads of security agencies in Oyo State and journalists from the South West geo-political zone.
. TheWitness
