1st November, 2019
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has tasked officers and soldiers to ensure their personal safety and security at all times.
Buratai, who was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Lt.-Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, gave the advice while addressing the personnel after the Army’s monthly route march on Friday in Abuja.
He said that the last three months of the year was usually difficult in terms of security, warning that personnel on off duty and in uniform should always take precautions on their movement.
Buratai said that officers and men should always ensure that their whereabouts should be known to their families and friends to avoid such unfortunate incident.
“I want to remind all of us about our personal security. This is very important because we all know what the last three months of the year used to be in terms of security.
“Just last week or thereabout, all of us are aware how we lost one of our own, a lieutenant who just finished a course at Calabar and was on his way to his unit. Unfortunately he was murdered inside Abuja here.
“That says a lot about how we take our personal security; know where you go, when you go and how you go to where ever you are going.
“On no account should you go to anywhere without letting anybody know where you are going. That is very important.
“When you are not on duty and you are out of uniform, be very careful with your movement.
“This is very important because if we as military men can be murdered in that way then you can imagine how those who are not uniform men will feel,” he said.
Buratai also cautioned the officers and soldiers on the use of social media, urging them to be wary of the good, bad and ugly of the platform.
“We should be very careful about what we see, read and distribute or share as the case may be.
“You must subject whatever you read on social media to one form of interpretation or the other to ascertain whether it is true or it is something that is being conjured to raise tension.
“We have seen on many occasions where clips of 1990s or 2003 of us being reenacted on social media as a fresh issue or bringing clips from other parts of the world and imposing them as if there are happening right now in Nigeria.
“We are law abiding citizens and we must not be found on the wrong side of the law,” he warned.
The Army chief, however, urged the newly promoted officers and men to justify their promotion through hard work, professionalism and efficiency.
He said that army authorities recognised their hard works, sacrifices and contributions either at the staff and office level or in the field of operations.