The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has advocated a healthy military-media relationship in Nigeria to create a positive perception that would sustain support for the Army’s counter-terrorism operations and other operations to secure the country and protect innocent citizens.
The COAS said this was necessary as the media remains a key partner in the Army’s non-kinetic line of operation for the nation’s security.
Gen. Lagbaja stated this in his opening remarks at the Nigerian Army Media Chat for the Third Quarter 2023, held at the Tiger’s Mess, Agodi, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Wednesday.
The theme of the Media Chat is “Leveraging Media to Enhance Nigeria’s Internal Security Operations.”
Gen. Lagbaja, who was represented by the General Officer Commanding, 2 Division, Major General Bamidele Alabi, described the Media Chat as part of civil-military cooperation activities aimed at keeping the fourth estate of the realm informed, dispelling rumours, and providing accurate and timely information to the media as an important segment of nation-building.
He also said that the Media Chat is part of the civil-military cooperation activities aimed at keeping the fourth estate of the realm informed, dispelling rumours, and providing accurate and timely information to the media as an important segment of nation-building.
Noting the myriad of internal security challenges the nation is inundated with at the moment, the Army Chief disclosed that the Nigerian Army, under his leadership, has adopted a multi-dimensional approach requiring the collaboration of all, especially the media, in confronting the challenges.
He stressed the importance of the media chat for a more detailed examination of issues related to the Nigerian Army and to provide context and other perspectives.
Gen. Lagbaja said: “Traditionally, the media keeps society informed of events, including military operations. They interpret the military as a society.
“The military, on the other hand, is concerned with the successful conduct of its missions, which may require the maintenance of operational security required to win wars.
“However, a good part of the interface between the media and the military involves the reportage of routine military activities and the conduct of military personnel in peacetime.”
He spoke on advances in information and communication technology and the rise of the new media, which opened a new vista in media practice, noting that it had blurred the line between professional media practitioners and amateurs who practise the trade without ethics or responsibility.
“This has changed the dynamics in the media’s practice to keep society informed and placed an added burden on helping separate genuine news from fake news.
“Thus, a media chat such as this is an opportunity to dispel rumours, interrogate issues relating to the Army, and debunk fake news,” the Army Chief said.
He pointed out the security environment in Nigeria, which has drastically evolved such that the Nigerian Army is deployed to combat terrorists, insurgents, and other criminals in all parts of the country.
He said that the successful conduct of these operations requires the support and efforts of the people, hence the need for a healthy military-media relationship.
Gen. Lagbaja assured of the Nigerian Army’s continuous training and equipping of its forces to carry out kinetic operations in compliance with the approved rules of engagement and code of conduct for various theatres, within and outside the country.
He said that the Nigerian Army under his leadership had implemented robust strategies across all lines of operations to ensure that the security challenges in the country were resolved favourably in the shortest possible time.
In his welcome remarks, the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Major General Nosakhare, highlighted the purpose of the media chat, which is to provide an opportunity for the Nigerian Army to engage with various communication experts for better understanding and to chart a mutually beneficial relationship to improve media reportage.
According to Major General Ugbo, the event is held quarterly as part of the Nigerian Army’s efforts to inform the media of its civil-military cooperation and relations activities to eliminate rumours and provide accurate and timely information in line with international best practices.
He said that the Media Chat is also an aspect of the non-kinetic line of operations as defined by the constitutional mandate, which is why the Nigerian Army has continually taken measures to strengthen the civil-military relationship in Nigeria.
“The Army has achieved this through enhanced civil-military cooperation activities, effective liaison, visits to relevant stakeholders, advocacy and mediation, and seminars.
“In addition, the Army conducts workshops and conferences with different strata of Nigerian society.
Within the Nigerian Army, deliberate efforts have been institutionalised to enhance professionalism among troops towards achieving our constitutional responsibilities,” he said.
To strengthen the civil-military relationship, he said that the Nigerian Army had open avenues for feedback to ensure that it continues to improve on its tactics, techniques, and procedures and also address complaints and abuses if there are any.
To this end, Major General Ugbo disclosed that the Nigerian Army, in 2026, put in place the Civil-Military Legal Desk to address issues relating to human rights violations and abuses by troops during operations and other duties.
“It is pertinent to state that the Legal Desk has so far received, investigated, and treated over 95 per cent of over a thousand complaints since its introduction in 2016.
Two per cent of these complaints are still being investigated, while the remaining three per cent were discarded for lack of merit.
“Additionally, the Nigerian Army has a dedicated toll-free line for members of the public to provide any information that would aid and improve the conduct of our operations,” the civil-military affairs chief said.
He added that the Chief of Army Staff had directed the placement of suggestion and complaint boxes at easily accessible locations within our formations and units to enable members of the public to interface with the Nigerian Army authorities at all levels.
Present at the programme were heads of security agencies in Oyo State and journalists from the South-West geopolitical zone.
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