President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a new Nigerian Army depot in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, in a bid to bolster national security and address the persistent challenges in the South-East region.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

The development was announced by the Special Assistant to President Tinubu onsocial media, Dada Olusegun, in a post shared on his X handle on Saturday.

This new facility brings the number of army depots in Nigeria to three, joining the long-standing depots in Kaduna and Osogbo.

In a video shared by the presidential aide, the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waidi Shaibu, explained that the decision was driven by the urgent need to increase the strength of the Nigerian Army amid security threats across the country.

“All these are geared towards increasing the strength of the Nigerian Army, and the reasons are not far-fetched.

“There are security challenges across the length and breadth of the country in each geopolitical zone,” Shaibu stated.

He disclosed that the new depot will facilitate the training of 3,500 additional troops, with another 3,500 personnel expected to arrive from Osogbo next week. The soldiers will undergo advanced infantry training, utilizing modern technology to enhance their operational readiness.

“So now with this additional 3,500 troops coming on board, as well as next week we have another 3,500 troops coming on board from Osogbo, all these troops will now be given further training, advanced infantry training, before their deployment in various areas of operation,” Shaibu added.

“To increase the strength of our venerable troops and boots on the ground in tackling the security challenges in the country. Even in training here, we are leveraging technology.

“We have the indoor shooting range, which is one of the ways we look to improve their marksmanship principles,” he concluded.

This approval follows recent calls by Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, for increased military support to tackle the “sit-at-home” orders enforced by non-state actors in the South-East.