The Nigerian Army has established its 8th division in the northern part of Borno state as part of measures to boost the ongoing war against Boko Haram insurgents.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai made this announcement on Wednesday while delivering a lecture titled: ‘Nigerian Army: Challenges and Future Perspectives,’ at the National Defence College, Abuja.
Thinkers Newspaper recalls that the Nigerian Army Command had in August 2013 established the 7th Infantry Division in Maiduguri at a time the activities of terrorists got to its peak.
Buratai said the division would soon become fully operational with logistics and manpower deployments.
He further disclosed plans by the Army to establish a 6th Division with Headquarters in the South-South region of the country.
The Chief of Army Staff said the establishment of the additional formations would bring the number of divisions in the Nigerian Army to eight.
“Emerging threats to the security of our nation which have been aggravated by the proliferation of armed groups have added to the task of the military in protecting the lives of Nigerians and the integrity of its territory.”
“ The focus of the Nigerian Army today is to find lasting solutions to these contemporary threats posed by the activities of the armed groups and their allies.
“The Nigerian Army, therefore, remains poised to the extermination of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria; today, they can no longer hold any territory as it used to be in the past that is why they have resorted to the use of IEDs to hit soft targets.
“We have established the 8 division located in the northern part of Borno specifically to clear the area of the remaining terrorists elements while another division, 6 Division, will be established in the South-South,” he said.
