Amidst the ongoing war against terrorists and bandits in the country, a retired Nigerian Army Colonel, and civil War veteran Musa Salam has urged the federal government to recruit more Nigerians into the armed forces.
According to Salam who fought in the Nigerian Civil War between 1967 and 1970, no fewer than 5 million service men will be required to man the nation’s porous borders against infiltration of armed men into the country.
The veteran who is the Secretary of the Nigerian Legion, Lagos State chapter spoke on Channels Television Morning show on Wednesday in commemoration of this year’s Armed Forces Day.
The Armed Forces Remembrance Day is a yearly event to celebrate Nigeria’s fallen heroes, particularly those that fought in the Civil War.
His remarks comes as the nation’s armed forces struggle to contain Boko Haram terrorist and bandits in the nations’ North east and North west.
Last week, some Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorists invaded a military camp in Danboa, Borno state killing at least six soldiers.
Many of the terrorists were neutralized by the brave soldiers, but analyst insist that the attack was an indication that the forces of evil have yet to be totally decimated as claimed by the military.
Amidst the battle against Boko Haram and ISWAP, a new terrorist group, Lukarawa had recently emerged in the country’s North west state of Sokoto, and are now setting up camps across the region, according to reports.
Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters, DHQ, while confirming the attack in a statement few days ago said some gallant soldiers paid the supreme price while trying to repel the terrorists.
The statement said “On 4 January 2025, an unspecified number of ISWAP/BHT terrorists riding on motorcycles and Gun trucks engaged troops deployed in SABON GARI Village of DAMBOA Local Government Area of Borno State in a firefight.
“The terrorists had attempted to surprise troops and retaliate against the recent killing of their commander and combatants by troops.
“The terrorists were taken unaware when troops fighting patrol returning to base foiled their planned attack as soon as the attack commenced. Additionally, the troop’s reinforcement team comprised of elements of the Civilian Joint Taskforce, vigilantes as well as hybrid forces timely arrived at the scene to overpower the terrorists.
“Furthermore, though troops reinforcement team encountered an Improvise Explosive Device injuring the Vigilante Commander. The reinforcement team arrived in time to decimate the fleeing terrorist.
“Furthermore, the air component of Operation HADIN KAI conducted air interdiction on the fleeing terrorist. Battle Damage Assessment revealed several killed terrorists and recovered weapons.
“On the whole, 34 terrorists were killed and 23 AK 47 weapons were recovered. Troops also recovered with over 200 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition. Sadly, 6 personnel were killed in action.
Salam said Nigeria with over 200 million people required more soldiers in the Army, Airforce, and Navy with adequate weapons to be able to contain the danger posed by the criminals to the nation’s territorial integrity.
According to checks, as of January 2025, the Nigerian Armed Forces have more than 230,000 active personnel, making it the biggest uniformed combat services in the continent.
He lamented a situation where Nigerian soldiers are forced to fight the terrorists using inferior weapons, saying the criminals have advantage over Nigerians troops because of the sophisticated weapons in their custody.
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