President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has condemned the recent attack by soldiers on Adamawa State Police Command headquarters and warned the Nigerian Army to desist from carrying out retaliatory attack on the Police or any civilian population over any provocation.
The President also assured Nigerians that the unfortunate drone incident that killed and injured many people at Tudun Biri village in Kaduna State would be investigated even as he called for prevention of such incident in the future.
Tinubu said these on Monday while declaring open the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Annual General Conference 2023 in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
He said: “Let me say something about the tragic loss of lives in Kaduna. This was a compound tragedy as a nation and no amount of money or compensation would replace the lives of loved ones lost in the incident. We weep at the tragic loss of precious women, men and children. Those of us entrusted with the nation’s security are severely pained to see harm befalling those people we sworn to protect. Such incident must be investigated and future occurrence must be prevented.
On the recent attack on Adamawa State Police Command headquarters by Soldiers, the President said: “To you military leaders, you have a responsibility to demonstrate great character in uniform. Therefore, what happened in Adamawa State is unacceptable.”
Continuing, the President said: “You have a point of the report, a point where you can ventilate your anger. Venting your anger against the Police is not acceptable to any of us the leaders. Please, let it end.”
He charged the COAS conference participants to focus their discussions on intelligence, inclusiveness and ability to combat security challenges to better protect Nigerians and combat emerging threats confronting the nation.
“As the president and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is a great honour and profound joy for me today for the opening of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Annual General Conference for 2023.
“The conference has become a prime and valuable tradition symbolising the Nigerian Army devotion to national security as well as pursuit of excellence,” he further said.
The President, after declaring the conference open, visited troops of Operation Hadin Kai Joint Taskforce and commended them for their efforts in bringing the Boko Haram war to an end.