By Huldah Shado
Newly appointed Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), has issued a shoot-on-sight directive to troops confronting armed bandits, warning that soldiers must not hesitate when faced with imminent threats.
He gave the order on Wednesday during his Senate screening at the National Assembly, Abuja.
Responding to lawmakers’ concerns about delayed battlefield decisions, Musa stressed that deployed troops already possess full authority to neutralise armed criminals without waiting for additional clearance.
“You are to engage any criminal or bandit that is armed and about to kill you. You don’t have to wait. Once deployed, you automatically have that responsibility,” he said.
He added that any soldier who claims to be waiting for orders in such situations “is lying and is only a coward.”
Musa also announced plans to withdraw soldiers from routine checkpoints nationwide, noting that the police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps would take over such duties.
The military, he said, will be repositioned to penetrate remote forests and target criminal hideouts.
He stressed the urgency of restoring security for farmers who have abandoned farmlands due to persistent attacks.
“If people can’t eat, you can imagine what will happen,” he warned.
Describing the perpetrators of recent killings as “a bunch of evil people on drugs,” Musa emphasised improved coordination among security agencies and declared that “no Nigerian must be killed for whatever reason.”
The minister pledged not to fail the confidence reposed in him. “I know I cannot afford to fail myself, fail my nation, or fail my family,” he said.
