- The course, organized by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), centered on “Winning Hearts and Minds for National Cohesion and Development”
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, says the military has upscaled the use of hard and soft power in counter-insurgency operations to contain the emerging and changing nature of adversaries.
Mr Musa said this while delivering a lecture titled, “Non-Kinetic Operations and the Nigerian Armed Forces,” at the opening of a national security course on “Psychological Operations and Strategic Communication (PSYOPS)” on Monday in Abuja.
The course, organized by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), centered on “Winning Hearts and Minds for National Cohesion and Development.” Rear Adm. Daupreye Matthew, director of training at Defence Headquarters, represented the CDS, noting that non-kinetic efforts in Operation Safe Corridor led to over 2,000 Boko Haram members surrendering between 2016 and 2017.
Of these, 67% were affiliated with the Abubakar Shekau faction. Additionally, 1,543 repentant terrorists graduated from Sidi Camp in Gombe State, and 1,935 were released from Bulumkutu camp in Borno from 2016 to 2022. From July 2021 to May 4, 2022, 51,828 terrorists and their family members surrendered, with 13,360 being fighters.
He added that 106,000 terrorists and their family members had so far surrendered in the North-East.
The defence chief, however, called for assessment and content analysis of the security policies and legal and operational frameworks.
He also called for the upscaling of government support, including developing and implanting vetting systems, as well as capacity building for government service providers and direct assistance to transitional facilities working with low-risk individuals.
He further advocated individual case management and referral services as well as community-based peace-building, reconciliation and reintegration.
Earlier, the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye said that the five-day programme was to boost security experts’ understanding of the dynamics of psychological operations and strategic communication.
Mr Undiandeye described psychological operation and strategic communication as an integral element of modern warfare but were widely neglected by communication science despite their importance.
According to him, it is now used not only to manipulate an enemy’s will to fight but also to influence public opinion.
He said the employment of strategic communication influences operations and non-kinetic tools to win hearts and minds and enhance national security and cohesion.
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