By Joy Odor – Reportcircle News
In a decisive move signalling a new phase in Nigeria’s warfighting efficiency, the Chief of Defence Communication (CDC), Major General Edore Agbebaku, on Wednesday launched his first full-scale operational assessment tour of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), the military’s flagship counterterrorism theatre in the Northeast.
The visit, described by officers as “the strongest push yet for a unified military communication doctrine”, marks a strategic shift in how Nigeria plans, coordinates and executes joint operations against insurgency and terrorism.
At exactly 0900 hours, OPHK Headquarters in Maiduguri went into high gear as the Defence Headquarters’ communication chief arrived to begin what insiders characterised as a ground-zero audit of the military’s information backbone.
General Agbebaku was immediately ushered into a series of classified briefings detailing:
The theatre’s communication grid
Its surveillance and signal systems
Inter-service information-sharing channels
Current vulnerabilities affecting command-and-control
The closed-door sessions were followed by a high-level interactive forum involving component commanders, signal specialists and intelligence officers.
Emerging from the strategy room, the CDC delivered a message that blended urgency with intent.
“We are here to deepen joint communication, enhance the technical backbone of the theatre, and ensure information moves faster, cleaner, and more securely across all levels of command.”
He revealed that Defence Headquarters has already begun approving major communication upgrades including:
Modular earth-observation centres across all theatres
Expansion of theatre-wide communication assets
Redesigned information-security protocols
A push toward full-spectrum joint network integration
General Agbebaku made it clear that his mandate is to break down silos among the Army, Navy and Air Force:
“The future of warfare depends on seamless joint communication. Without it, we limit our operational power. With it, we multiply it.”
Welcoming the CDC, the Theatre Commander, Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, underscored how decisive communication has become in modern conflict.
He put it bluntly: “If you haven’t got communication, you haven’t got anything.”
The Theatre Commander described Agbebaku’s visit as timely, stressing that improved communication assets would immediately impact mission planning, strike coordination, surveillance operations and joint missions with the Air Force and other components.
He praised the CDC for his “passion, patriotism and commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s warfighting architecture.”
The visit drew attendance from the top brass of OPHK, including:
Deputy Theatre Commander, AVM Essen Efanga
Component Commanders
GOC 7 Division / Commander Sector 1 OPHK, Brig Gen Ugochukwu Unachukwu
Principal staff officers and communication teams
Their message was unanimous:
The theatre needs stronger, faster and more secure communication systems to outpace insurgents who are increasingly adapting.
The tour concluded with the signing of the Visitors’ Register and presentation of a commemorative plaque to General Agbebaku gestures that reinforced the strategic weight of the visit.
But the true takeaway was the unspoken consensus in the room:
Nigeria’s war against terror will not only be won with firepower,
it will be won with information superiority, real-time coordination, and joint communication that acts as one voice, one grid, one force.
With this visit, the Defence Communication Directorate has officially entered the battlefield.
