The Acting Chief of Army Staff, Lt. – Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, has warned terrorists and other criminals still operating in the country to be ready for serious consequences as the military will come harder on them.

Mr Oluyede stated this at the handing and taking over ceremony at the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps, Jaji Military Cantonment on Wednesday in Kaduna.

Mr Oluyede was the 56th Commander of the Infantry Corps before his appointment as Acting Chief of Army by President Bola Tinubu.

The Acting COAS handed over to Maj.-Gen. Abdul-Khalifa Ibrahim who is now the 57th Commander of Infantry Corps.

Mr Oluyede advised the new commander to keep the flag flying, describing the infantry as the largest chunk of the Nigerian Army.

According to him, for the Nigerian Army to succeed, it needs the infantry.

He urged him to move the infantry forward and embark on massive training needed for soldiers in the field.

He said, “Nobody has a monopoly of violence besides those of us in uniform. For the criminals out there, they should be ready for a good run from us because we are going to go out all for them. As for Nigerians, we will try as much as possible to make it more secure for them under my watch.’’

Earlier in his remarks, Maj-Gen. Ibrahim thanked the acting COAS for his many years of dedicated service to the Infantry Corps, and pledged to key into his vision for the infantry and Army in general.

He said, “On my part, I pledge to lead the infantry with integrity, courage, honour and utmost dedication, embracing best practices in all I do.  To my brave and dedicated fellow infantry men both officers and soldiers, I recognise the sacrifices, resilience and valour that defines our infantry tradition. Your selflessness, teamwork and unwavering loyalty inspire all of us.’’

Mr Ibrahim urged the personnel to continue to embrace the army’s core values of loyalty, integrity, discipline, selfless service, respect for others and courage in the discharge of their responsibilities.

The new commander Infantry Corps is a member of the 39th Regular Course Nigerian Defence Academy and hails from Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.

In the course of his career in the Nigerian Army, he was acting Garrison Commander in 1 Division Kaduna, Commander 14 Brigade, General Officer Commanding 7 Division, Maiduguri and also commanded the MultiNational Joint Task Force in N’djamena, Chad.

(NAN)