According to reports, the Defence Headquarters has started making plans for the potential mobilisation of personnel and resources for a potential conflict with coup planners in the Niger Republic.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had already ordered troops to be on standby.
At an extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and Government, which President Bola Tinubu convened in Abuja, the decision was made.
Leading diplomats from the African Union, United Nations, and regional groupings also attended the summit.
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Recall how the junta removed Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president, from office on July 26.
According to Punch, the Chief of Defence Staff has been given instructions by the Nigerian military’s high command to assemble and submit war needs, including the quantity of soldiers, equipment, logistics, and financial expenditures.
The platform stated that the preparation phase for gathering the personnel and material resources necessary for the anticipated military involvement in Niger is currently in its nascent stages.
According to a report that was released, the Niger Republic’s struggle against the junta would require roughly two battalions.
A battalion is a type of military force made up of 300 to 1,000 troops, normally under the command of a lieutenant colonel, and is further divided into a number of companies, which are typically each under the command of a major or a captain.
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The overall number of troops should be at least “ten times more than that of the enemy,” according to a military insider who talked with Punch.
Other ECOWAS member states are anticipated to provide troops to the standby force in addition to Nigeria, Senegal, Benin, and Ivory Coast.
Reliable military sources who spoke with Punch on Friday provided an update on the ECOWAS resolution, saying that the Nigerian military authorities had begun utilising the appropriate levers to fully reflect the West African leaders’ resolutions.
According to a source, the Defence Headquarters will organise the movement of personnel and tools for the operation.
The source said, “No deployment has been made for now, but the build-up is ongoing. Services are to forward requirements such as the required number of men, equipment as well as funds that would be needed to mobilise troops to Niger. The DHQ will coordinate the deployment of troops for the operation in Niger.”
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When asked about the total number of troops that would be deployed, another source stated, “Military deployments are shrouded in secrecy, but it depends on how many men would be contributed by all members of ECOWAS. The total force should be at least 10 times more than that of the enemy.”
Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, the director of defence information, told Nigerians that their participation in the military action in Niger will not have an impact on the country’s ongoing struggle against insecurity.
Security experts had expressed concern that military action in Niger would have an influence on current operations against criminal elements across the nation, which prompted his response.
When asked if the anticipated force deployment to Niger would have any negative effects on the ongoing operation against members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, the Eastern Security Network, Boko Haram terrorists, and bandits, Gusau responded, “I want to assure you that it will not in any way.”
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Regarding the preparations for the anticipated military involvement in Niger, the DHQ spokesman declined to comment.
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