COAS pledges normalcy in polity amid calls for state policing, forest guards

By : Adamu Abuh, Bala Yahaya

Date: 7 January 2026 5:05am WAT

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Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu

• Niger police deploy experts to detonate bomb Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Waidi Shaibu has reassured that the Nigerian Army would stem the increasing terrorism in parts of the country, especially the northern region.

He gave the assurance yesterday in Minna,Niger State, during the opening of the 2026 Doctrine and Training Conference at the Doctrine and Training Command of the Nigerian Army (TRADOC). Shaibu maintained that the military was committed to implementing President Bola Tinubu’s directive in this direction.

The COAS explained that the yearly conference is to review activities and get feedback from the fields. He further noted that the gathering was to chart plausible strategies with a view to boosting its operations in view of the changing and complex operational environments.

Shaibu, who was the Special Guest of Honour, said the conference was equally aimed at critically assessing and reviewing the extant doctrinal and training efforts of the Nigerian Army.

Earlier, Commander of TRADOC, Maj.-Gen. Peter Malla said the event marked the commencement of the training institutions for 2026.

BESIDES, a new report by public policy think-tank, Nextier, has observed that the nation’s recently declared national security emergency may fail to deliver lasting peace unless it is complemented by state policing reforms and institutional deployment of forest guards to reclaim ungoverned spaces.

The organisation warned that although President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency on November 26, 2025, sent a strong political signal, its current structure is “in danger of becoming a kinetic stopgap rather than a transformative security strategy” if it continues to rely largely on troop expansion.

Authored by governance and peace-building expert at Nextier, Dr Ndidi (Anyanwu) Njoku, the analysis argued that insecurity in Nigeria has become increasingly mobile, economically driven and rooted in governance vacuums—dynamics that cannot be reversed by recruitment-heavy or reactive security responses alone.

ON its part, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution has called for stronger collaboration between citizens and security agencies to defeat insecurity across the federation.

Recall that people, including children, were killed in renewed terror attacks by suspected bandits in Agwara and Borgu Local Councils of Niger State.

In a statement signed by its Director-General, Joseph Ochogwu, yesterday in Abuja, the institute described recent attacks on communities in Agwara and Borgu council areas as “desperate attempts” by fleeing bandits, insurgents, and terrorist groups currently under sustained pressure from security forces.

HOWEVER, three bomb explosives have been discovered in a nearby bush few metres away from Ganaru village of Zugurma district of Mashegu council area of Niger State.

A community source revealed that the farmers, who were heading for their farming activities, discovered the explosivesplanted by the roadside and raised the alarm on January 5. Chairman of MasheguLocal Council, Jibrin Egade, who confirmed the development,added that the arena had been shielded from harm.

Niger State Commissioner of Police, Adamu Elleman, said bomb experts had been deployedto ensure the safety of life and property.

The DalatunZugurma, Kudu Mohammad, also confirmed to The Guardian that security agencies hadbeen mobilised to maintain law and order in the area.

ON its part, the Niger State Police command has deployed bomb experts to evacuate the explosives.

The Commissioner of Police, Adamu Elleman, made this known yesterday when he confirmed the discovery.

Elleman said there was one and not three bombs.

He urged the people to go about their legitimate businesses without fear of intimidation, saying experts had been deployed to evacuate the bomb professionally.

IN another development, the Commissioner for Basic Education, Dr Hadiza Asebe Mohammed, has confirmed that only schools cleared by security agencies are allowed to open on January 12.

She stated this yesterday at a stakeholders’ meeting in Minna.

According to her, “Only schools in Chanchaga, Suleja, Bida and part of Bosso local governments are to open next Monday. These are schools within the cities of the state which have been deemed safe to begin academic activities by security reports and advice to the Ministry of Basic Education.”

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