ARMY EXPANSION: RETIRED COLONEL SEEKS SPECIAL FORCES 5 DIV STATUS

The Special Adviser on Security to the Sokoto State Governor, Col Ahmed Usman (retd), has urged President Bola Tinubu to designate the newly approved Nigerian Army 5 Division Headquarters in Makurdi, Benue State, as a Special Forces Division.

Usman made the call on Monday while commending the President’s approval for the expansion of the Nigerian Army from eight to 12 divisions and the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel.

He described the move as a major step towards strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture but said increased troop strength alone would not be enough to tackle the country’s growing security challenges.

“The security environment in Nigeria has changed significantly.

 We are no longer dealing with conventional threats alone.

“Terrorism, banditry, communal violence, kidnapping and transnational criminal activities require highly trained and specialised forces capable of rapid deployment, intelligence-driven operations and precision strikes,” Usman said.

According to him, the new 5 Division, expected to oversee military operations across Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi states, should be specially structured and equipped to confront terrorism, banditry, communal violence, kidnapping and organised criminal networks destabilising the North-Central region.

He said the formation already had a strong foundation for such a role, noting that the former 401 Special Forces Brigade, which is being upgraded to divisional status, had long served as one of the Nigerian Army’s centres for training and developing Special Forces personnel.

“Building on that legacy by formally designating the new formation as a Special Forces Division will significantly enhance the Army’s capacity to respond to evolving security threats across the country,” he added.

Usman said the North-Central had increasingly become one of Nigeria’s major conflict zones due to persistent farmer-herder clashes, communal violence, banditry and kidnappings, making the establishment of a specialised military formation in Makurdi timely and strategic.

He said a Special Forces division would provide rapid-response capability, strengthen counter-terrorism and counter-banditry operations, improve intelligence-driven missions and reinforce neighbouring military formations whenever large-scale operations became necessary.

The security adviser also stressed that Makurdi’s strategic location would enable the division to project military operations beyond the North-Central into parts of the South-East and South-South whenever required.

He further urged military authorities to ensure that a substantial number of the newly approved 28,000 recruits were trained as Special Forces operators, intelligence personnel, drone pilots and combat engineers to meet the demands of modern warfare.

Usman also called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to provide adequate funding for the newly created divisions, saying they must be equipped with modern surveillance technology, drones, night-vision equipment, advanced communication systems, light armoured vehicles and medical evacuation platforms.

While commending the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Waidi Shaibu, for driving the Army’s expansion initiative, he urged the governments of Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi states to support the establishment of the division through the provision of land, logistics and other critical infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Citizens Watch for Good Governance has described the Army’s expansion and the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel as a “game changer” that would significantly strengthen the fight against insecurity.

The group’s Director of Communications, Igwe Ude-Umanta, said the decision represented one of the most far-reaching reforms of Nigeria’s security architecture in recent years.

According to the group, the expansion went beyond a routine increase in troop strength and represented a strategic intervention capable of transforming the country’s security landscape.

“This bold and gigantic step is a game changer. It is suffocation to the very oxygen of insecurity, a deadly venom to both the sponsors and the foot soldiers of terror, a potent cleanser that will detoxify this nation of criminality and make the torment of insecurity a thing of the past,” the group said.

It added that the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel would boost the morale of soldiers currently engaged in counter-insurgency, anti-banditry and other internal security operations across the country.

The organisation also urged Nigerians to support security agencies by providing timely and credible intelligence, while calling for sustained investment in military funding, modern equipment and improved welfare for personnel.

It praised the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Olufemi Oluyede, describing them as the “twin pillars” driving the military’s transformation.

The group also passed a vote of confidence in both military chiefs, saying their leadership had strengthened operational effectiveness across the country.

Tinubu recently approved the expansion of the Nigerian Army from eight to 12 divisions, alongside the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel, as part of broader efforts to strengthen the military’s response to terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other security threats. The proposed 5 Division Headquarters in Makurdi is expected to strengthen military operations across Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi states.