The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Farouq Yahaya has emphasised the need for collaboration among all stakeholders in securing national assets and infrastructure.
Th COAS stated this at the Stakeholder’s summit on the Protection of Critical Infrastructure organized by Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Abuja.
The Army Chief who was represented by Director, Peacekeeping at the Department of Operations, Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen Zakari Abubakar said the importance of critical infrastructure to the existence of a nation underscores the need for its protection from sabotage, natural disasters and vandalism.
He said the central goal of effective protection of critical infrastructural facilities is to secure , prevent or mitigate the effects of accidental or deliberate efforts to destroy , incapacitate or exploit the facilities.
While emphasizing the effort of Nigerian Army in securing national asset and infrastructure, the Army Chief said Nigerian Army has played significant role in the protection of critical national asset and infrastructure.
He noted that while the NSCDC is the lead agency in critical infrastructure in Nigeria, Nigerian Army has been actively involved in the protection of critical infrastructure through physical and cyber based operation.
He said, “The protection of critical national infrastructure requires a holistic approach an sustained interphase with other governmental as well as security stakeholders.
“To this end, the Nigerian Army collaborates with other agencies in the areas of capacity building, training, technical support, information sharing , provision of security advisories on cyber attacks and threats as well as evolution of strategies to combat cyber crime and cyber terrorism.”
While speaking on the successes recorded as a result of collaborative efforts of the Nigerian Army and NSCDC particularly under Operation Delta Safe, the Army Chief revealed that the two services conducted a joint operations for the protection of petroleum pipelines covering a total distance of about 3, 743 kilometres on land and about 1,631 nautical miles in the maritime environment.
The COAS emphasized the need for enabling legislation, the importance of public sensitization , joint operations, continuous capacity building and provision of appropriate equipment.
