DHQ committee visits Maiduguri for joint defence doctrine review

Defence Headquarters (DHQ) Committee on the review of the Armed Forces of Nigeria’s Joint Defence Doctrine has visited the Headquarters Theatre Command, Joint Task Force (North East) Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), in Maiduguri, Borno, to seek Doctrinal Inputs.

This was contained in a statement made available to Defence Correspondents by the Media Information Officer, Joint Task Force Operation HADIN KAI, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba.

According to the statement, the four-man committee, led by Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Isah, was at Theatre Command to interact with field commanders and officers as part of its nationwide engagement on the ongoing review of the Joint Defence Doctrine.

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In his remarks, the Theatre Commander, Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, welcomed the DHQ committee and appreciated the initiative of DHQ to review the Joint Doctrine at this point in time.

It added that the Theatre Commander also stated that the review of the Joint Doctrine was very timely and would greatly enhance the interoperability and jointness within the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

Maj Gen Abubakar added that in the OPHK Theatre of Operations, jointness has been the key to operational effectiveness. He therefore provided additional inputs on Joint Task Force North East Operation HADIN KAI Joint Operations Process.

In his remarks, the DHQ Committee Chairman, AVM Isah, noted that the Joint Defence Doctrine was expected to be reviewed every five years.

He explained that the current doctrine was due for review, which prompted the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa OFR, lto direct its update.

He added that the committee was touring formations and units across the Services to gather inputs, hence their visit to Maiduguri.

The statement further explained that during the visit, the presentation on Theatre Command’s doctrinal contributions was delivered by Commander 57 Signals Brigade, Brigadier General Nelson Okafor, on behalf of the Theatre Command.

According to it, the session also featured interactive discussions, where further clarifications were made.

The DHQ Committee Chairman expressed appreciation to the Theatre Commander, his management team, and other officers for their valuable contributions to the review process.

Earlier in the day, the Theatre Commander also received a courtesy visit from officials of IHS Towers and Strength, a telecommunications infrastructure company incorporated in Nigeria and licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

In his remarks, the IHS Team Leader, Colonel Abdulkadir Ahmed (retired), stated that the visit was aimed at strengthening existing collaboration with the Theatre Command, especially in the area of security of critical national infrastructure across the North East theatre of operations.

He explained that the company provides services to telecommunications providers by maintaining masts, facilities, and fueling equipment—operations which often require military security support due to the vulnerability of the region.

He further noted that, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the company had supported some military locations within the theatre, and called for deeper partnership and collaboration with the Theatre Command.

In his response, the Theatre Commander, Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, thanked the IHS team for its continued partnership with the Command.

He assured them of the Theatre’s commitment to strengthening the collaboration, as the mandate of JTF (NE) OPHK included the protection of critical national infrastructure in line with the recent Presidential Order on the protection of such strategic assets.