By Reportcircle Abuja
In a forceful show of frontline leadership, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, on Wednesday stormed Maiduguri with a blunt message for troops of Operation HADIN KAI:
Stay vigilant, stay aggressive, and give terrorists no breathing space.
The Army Chief’s unannounced operational assessment visit to the Headquarters of the Joint Task Force North East (OPHK) comes amid renewed efforts to stamp out the remnants of insurgent groups still attempting to destabilise vulnerable communities across Borno and neighbouring states.
Addressing troops, Shaibu praised their courage but warned that ongoing successes could be undermined by complacency.
He urged soldiers to maintain maximum situational awareness, press harder against hostile elements, and shut down any attempt by terrorists to regain operational footing.
“We must deny them freedom of action everywhere, every time,” he charged, reinforcing the importance of momentum in counterinsurgency operations.
During a closed-door session with OPHK commanders, the COAS emphasised the need for:
Close and accountable supervision
Robust intelligence gathering
Sharper inter-agency coordination
A reinforced, agile operational posture
He stressed that tactical discipline and unified command structures remain vital to sustaining the gains recorded under Operation HADIN KAI.
Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, Theatre Commander of OPHK, briefed the Army Chief on current operations, frontline achievements and persistent challenges across the theatre.
In a significant show of political and operational alignment, Borno State Governor Professor Babagana Umara Zulum visited the COAS during the tour, congratulating him on his appointment as the 25th Army Chief.
Zulum noted that Shaibu’s years of operational command roles in the Northeast had “drastically weakened the insurgency” and expressed confidence that he would consolidate ongoing security successes.
He reaffirmed Borno State’s unwavering commitment to supporting the military, stressing that isolated incidents should not derail the progress made in recent years.
General Shaibu thanked Governor Zulum for the cooperation extended by the state government, assuring that the Nigerian Army remains fully committed to restoring lasting peace and normalcy across Borno and the entire Northeast corridor.
Accompanied by Principal Staff Officers from Army Headquarters, the COAS’s visit is widely seen as a renewed push to reinforce morale, tighten operational discipline and ensure that insurgents remain decisively on the back foot.
