INSECURITY: NO GOING BACK ON CURRENT INTELLIGENCE DRIVEN MILITARY OPERATIONS—-MINISTER

The Minister of Defence Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd) has challenged the Defence intelligence Agency (DIA) to see its mandate as a catalyst to successful conduct of the ongoing Military Operations to end insecurity in parts of the country.

Magashi stated this as special guest at the Commissioning of the agency’s Idi Musa Staff Housing Estate Kiyami along airport road Abuja, the Special Assistant To The Minister of Defence on Media & Publicity,
Mohammad Abdulkadri, said in a statement issued on Thursday.

ROYAL NEWS reports that climax of the ceremony was the unveiling of the ultra modern estate and the cutting of the tape by the Minister of defence maj Gen Magashi and assisted by members of the National Assembly and the representatives of diplomatic corps.

The minister said the nation’s current security challenges have resulted in higher demands for up- to-date actionable intelligence to decimate the criminal elements operating as insurgents, bandits and kidnappers in parts of the country.

The Defence Minister assured the agency of the unabated support of the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari and that of the Ministry of defence to enable it to continue to play pivotal role in providing intelligence support for the conduct of Military Operations.

Earlier in his address, the Chief of Defence intelligence (CDI) Air Vice Marshall MS Usman listed the Agency’s achievements under his watch to include completion of forty infrastructural and technical projects, successful passage of the DIA Pension Board Act by the National Assembly as well as the establishment of DIA Special Strike Team and maintaining a proactive posture in intelligence enterprise with the increase in the numbers of State Cells in aid of National security imperative.

While thanking the Commander- in- Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari for the opportunity to serve the nation he said the estate which is named after the fifth Chief of Defence Intelligence late AVM Idi Musa was built solely through budgetary allocations.

He thanked the defence Minister retired Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi, the former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Gabriel Abayomi Olonisakin and the immediate past Service Chiefs especially the former Chief of Air Staff Air Marshall Sadique Baba Abubakar for their strategic support for the Agency.