Identify, Neutralise Criminal Elements, CDS Orders Troops

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has order Nigeria’s security forces with identifying and neutralising criminal elements destabilising the country and the wider Sahel region.

Speaking as Special Guest of Honour at the closing ceremony of Exercise Haske Biyu 2025, held at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State, the CDS declared that the only path to lasting peace in the region is the decisive removal of armed non-state actors.

“At the end of the day, the only thing we must do is to look for the bad guys and take them out. That is the only way we can have peace,” Gen Musa stated.

The defence chief decried the worsening security situation in the Sahel, noting that criminal and terrorist groups in the region do not recognise borders, thus necessitating robust multinational cooperation.

“If we hold on to our borders alone, we will continue to suffer. But if we unite and work across, it makes it better,” he said, urging regional collaboration, especially through platforms like the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in Chad.

He stressed that military operations must be complemented by strong community engagement, adding that security forces cannot succeed without the active support of the public.

“Once communities deny these elements the ability to stay, they will not be able to stand,” the CDS said.

Gen Musa also emphasised the critical role of the media in shaping public perception, commending journalists for their sustained and constructive coverage of military operations.

“When perception is wrong, anything you are doing will be perceived as being wrong. So the media is critical,” he noted.

While urging personnel to uphold professionalism, the CDS warned against the twin threats of corruption and political interference in military operations, saying they could undermine gains made in the fight against insurgency and banditry.

“The only thing we must do is to look for the bad guys and take them out,” he reiterated, charging participants to translate their training into concrete, results-oriented action.

In his remarks, Commandant of the AFCSC, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Idris Alhaji, described Haske Biyu 2025 as the largest joint exercise conducted by the College.

He said the theme of the exercise, Family and National Security, was deliberately chosen to draw a link between social cohesion and national defence.

According to him, “Weak families and fractured communities create fertile ground for radicalism and criminality. Our personnel must take the lessons learned here and apply them within their communities and formations.”

Dignitaries from the military, paramilitary, and civil society organisations graced the closing ceremony, underscoring the national significance of the exercise and the importance of an all-of-society approach to security.