The Nigerian Army has publicized the launch of three training exercises across the country to forestall criminality during the Yuletide period.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.- Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, who briefed newsmen on Friday in Abuja, said the training exercises would be held in the South East, North Central, South-South and South West zones.
Nwachukwu said exercise GOLDEN DAWN III in the South east, ENDURING PEACE III in North Central and STILL WATERS III in the South-south and South-west, would be formally inaugurated by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja.
Similarly, he noted that the exercises would eventually dovetail into real time operations.
Nwachukwu stressed that the exercises were designed to improve professional competence of troops in tackling the security challenges peculiar to each of the regions.
He said exercise GOLDEN DAWN III in the South East was aimed at tackling armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, communal clashes and sundry crimes, which were more pronounced in the build up to the yuletide, as many citizens return home.
The Army spokesman said focus would be on intelligence gathering and effective proactive response to criminalities.
“With the exercise, we aim to improve the security in the South-east and ensure safety of the populace during the period,” he added.
Nwachukwu said Exercise ENDURING PEACE III would focus on addressing farmer-herder conflicts, cattle rustling, banditry, kidnapping, ethno-religious conflicts and terrorism in the North Central.
He added that the exercise would equip troops with the necessary skills to combat banditry, including hostage rescue operations, intelligence-driven raids and effective coordination with sister services and agencies.
According to him, Exercise STILL WATERS III taking place in the South-South and South-West would target the menace of cultism, robbery and kidnapping.
“It will also strive to address the challenges of pipeline vandalism and other forms of economic sabotage.
