Military Finally Moves Command Centre To Maiduguri

The Nigeria military has heeded to the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to transfer its command centre to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, in a bid to wage a total war on terrorism in the North-East of Nigeria.

Buhari had disclosed during his inauguration that one of his strategies of defeating the ‘stubborn’ Boko Haram militants was to move the military’s command centre from its comfort zone in Abuja to the warfront in Maiduguri.

According to a statement issued on Monday by the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, all Service Chiefs will move to the new centre called Operation Zaman Lafiya on Tuesday.

Usman explained that this move is “in compliance with Presidential pronouncement and the Chief of army Staff’s directive,” confirming the “establishment of Military Command and Control Centre (MCCC) for Operation Zaman Lafiya for the fight against terrorism and insurgency has moved to Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.”

He further explained that the team is “led by a Two-Star General” and has “already commenced work in earnest and it is comprised of elements of the officer of the Chief of Army Staff, all the relevant Army Headquarters Departments and other combat support components. The centre will serve as a forward command base for the Chief of Army Staff and other service chiefs.”

Usman noted that, “The centre is essentially an elaboration of an already existing Army Headquarters Command and Control arrangement. From now on, the fight against terrorism and insurgency would be monitored, coordinated and controlled from this centre.”

He also said Operation Zaman Lafiya is “aimed at bringing terrorism and insurgency to an end,” adding that “an alternate command centre is also being established in Yola, the Adamawa state capital of the north east.”