President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate payment of all pending Group Life Assurance owed to the Next of Kins of families of soldiers killed in action.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja disclosed this on Tuesday while declaring open the combined 2nd and 3rd Quarter Chief Of Army Staff Conference 2023, held at the Army Headquarters Command Officers Mess Abuja.
According to Lagbaja, he said the President has also directed the Armed Forces Nigeria AFN and other security agencies to end the insecurity in the country in the shortest possible time.
He said ”the Federal Government has a scheme called the Group Life Assurance. It is an insurance scheme designed to give succour to families of our departed heroes.
“This scheme works in such a way that the government pays premium to the insurance companies and in the event of death the insurance companies pay claims to the families of our departed heroes.”
”However, we have a backlog between 2012 and 2022, when claims were not paid. And some people died in the cause of service to the nation. So, the insurance companies who are at the liberty of paying the premium are not paying, and that is why the Federal Government has taken it upon itself to discharge that backlog and bring relief to the families of our departed heroes.”
The Army Chief said that in line with the matching order of the President to end insurgency activities in the country in the shortest time, the Nigerian Army has already established some Special Forces units with specially trained personnel to tackle various security challenges across the country.
According to him, “It is heart-warming to note that our activities in Operation Hadin Kai in the North East have effectively curtailed Boko Haram and other terrorist activities in the Region. Overall, our efforts have resulted in the large-scale surrender of members of the terrorist groups and the submission of a large cache of arms and ammunition.
“The good people of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States are steadily picking up their livelihood as the military, in collaboration with the government, is helping to restore governance to the hitherto deprived areas
The Army Chief who used the occasion to launch his vision and mission statement for the Nigerian army, said troops’ welfare and that of their families would continue to remain predominant to him as COAS.
On insecurity, Lagbaja, while charging field commanders to ensure the maintenance of sophisticated platforms and equipment procured by the army, in order to prolong their life span and enable the nation to optimize its investment.
The Army Chief who said that the activities of Operation HADIN KAI in the North East have drastically reduced the activities of Boko Haram terrorists and other criminal groups, said it is the reason for the mass surrender of terrorists and submission of a large cache of arms and ammunition.
Speaking on the sit-at-home order being enforced by the Indigenous People of Biafra across the South-East states, General Lagbaja declared that the order is no longer in force as it has ended.
IPOB in August 2021 commenced the sit-at-home order to demand the release of its leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from prison.
He explained that the menace has ended as a result of the heightened efforts of his men and collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
According to him ” We have equally heightened our efforts in containing criminalities perpetrated in the South East Region by the Indigenous People of Biafra and Eastern Security Network. Through Operation Udo Ka, our troops have, in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders, put an end to the infamous sit-at-home order that has almost crippled socio-economic activities in the Region.
” Law-abiding citizens of the Region now go about their businesses and everyday life. Similarly, our joint efforts with various government agencies have quelled attempts by criminals to disrupt economic activities in the South West Region. ”
General Lagbaja said that the conference would afford participants the opportunity to evaluate the conduct of ongoing Nigerian Army (NA) operations, training and other activities in pursuit of its constitutional mandate and enable the Nigerian Army to make projections for the fourth quarter, as well as comprehensively review ongoing counter-terrorism counter-insurgency operations in the North East and North West and other Nigerian Army operational engagements across the country.
The weeklong conference is being attended by Principal Staff Officers(PSOs), at the Army Headquarters, General Officers Commanding(GOCs), Corps, Formations, Operations Commanders, Commandants of Nigerian Army Schools, and Tri-service Institutions, as well as select army officers holding key appointments.
