Engage criminals, shoot at sight without further directive, Defence Minister to troops

In order to secure the front line protection, the Minister has directed soldiers to immediately shift from the old command of waiting for directives to engaging and shooting at sight.

He stated this at the screening exercise by Senators which was monitored by CAPITAL POST on Wednesday in Abuja.

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He said the killing of security agents cannot continue, but there was need to restore confidence in the country’s security efforts.

This was Musa’s reaction to question posed by Senators during his screening about concerns on command delays during encounters with insurgents which has often times led to the killing of Nigerian soldiers.

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In his explanation, the soldiers automatically assume powers once they have been dĺyed to conflict zones to fire criminals.

He however urged soldiers in war fronts to use their training and professional expertise to first protect themselves, their colleagues, and the communities under their watch.

He said, “And for the troop, every personnel member that is deployed knows why they’re deployed. You are to engage any criminal or any bandit that is armed and about to kill you. You don’t have to wait.

“Somebody’s aiming to shoot at you, you’re waiting for orders, from who? Once you are deployed, you automatically have that responsibility.”

Musa added that troops cannot claim they are awaiting authorisation when confronting imminent danger.

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