The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, said the deployment of Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin was for the defence of democracy, security and the support for peaceful electoral processes in the West African sub-region.
Shaibu made this disclosure Wednesday at the Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference in Abuja.
The deployment, he said, under Operations Atileyin Alaafia 1 and 2, indicates Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening the regional security architecture and boosting collaborative responses to emerging threats across surrounding nations, reported The Guardian.
“Therefore, we have kept on disrupting criminals’ networks, degrading adversary capabilities and restoring relative calm to previously volatile areas,” the army commander said.
“We are also not oblivious of the security situation around our contiguous countries with Nigeria, which require the deployment of troops for Operation Atileyin Alaafia 1 and 2 to restore democracy, security and the peaceful conduct of elections in the Republic of Benin.”
However, Shaibu emphasized the need to preserve the partnership between security agencies and regional partners in the fight against the dynamic security challenges in the sub-region.
“Equally important is the need to deepen joint and inter-agency cooperation and to integrate technology, innovation and real-time intelligence into our operations,” he added.
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