By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
In a calculated move to tighten Nigeria’s frontlines and reinforce counter-terrorism operations across the North-West, the 8 Division of the Nigerian Army and Sector 2 of the Joint Task Force (North West) Operation FANSAN YAMMA have graduated 60 newly trained, battle-ready soldiers from its Fourth Quarter Basic Battle Course, a grueling nine-week combat school built to manufacture warriors, not just personnel.
The soldiers emerged from the training fields in Sokoto on Wednesday with a sharpened combat instinct, enhanced field readiness, and what commanders described as “a hardened warrior ethos”, the intrinsic blend of courage, discipline, confidence, and team spirit required in Nigeria’s most volatile theatres.
Addressing the graduates, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division and Commander Sector 2 JTF (NW) OPFY, Major General Ibikunle Ademola Ajose, made no attempt to mask his satisfaction.
“This Division Training School has transformed,” he said, standing before formation of commanders and senior officers. “The improvements in infrastructure and training standards are evident in the field. Monthly reports show remarkable progress.”
Ajose charged the new soldiers to serve not merely as fighters but as force multipliers.
“Share your knowledge especially in weapons and live-fire drills. Let your discipline speak louder than your rank,” he told them, stressing that their influence must ripple across their units.
Earlier, the Acting Division Training Officer, Lieutenant Colonel David Ezebuche, broke down the philosophy behind the course one far more demanding than basic instruction.
“This training is designed to build a mindset,” he said. “We did not only teach tactics. We forged personal courage, self-discipline, confidence, and an unbreakable bond of team spirit. That is the warrior ethos.”
For nine weeks, soldiers were subjected to day-and-night drills, advanced marksmanship, simulated ambush engagements, section-attack maneuvers, survival exercises, and live-fire battlefield simulations.
The demonstration phase saw the new fighters showcase movement drills, contact-reaction skills, and synchronized tactical maneuvers performances that drew repeated nods from senior commanders.
Three outstanding soldiers rose above the rest:
Lance Corporal Abubakar Rabiu — Best Overall Graduating Soldier
Sapper Popoola Ayomide — Second in Merit
Private Edore Ogbenefejiro — Third in Merit
Their recognition, officers said, reflects a competitive and disciplined training environment.
The ceremony attended by formation commanders, staff officers, and invited guests closed with certificate presentations and a final group photograph that captured what the Army described as “a new frontline generation of fighters.”
The graduation underscores the Army’s accelerated restructuring of its North-West operational posture, amid renewed offensives against bandit groups, arms-trafficking networks, and cross-border criminal elements destabilizing the region.
For the Nigerian Army, these 60 soldiers are not just graduates.
They are reinforcements.
They are a message.
They are the next layer of steel in Nigeria’s ongoing war for territorial stability.
