The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, stated that it is unrealistic for two million security personnel to protect a population of over two hundred million Nigerians. This was disclosed by his representative, Chief of Training (Army), Major General Sanni Gambo Mohammed while deliverning a lecture titled, “The Roles and Contributions of the Nigerian Army to National Development”, organized by the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin.
He said, “There is an erroneous belief that security is to be provided and ensured without interruption only and exclusively by the security agencies, particularly Nigerian Army wherever deployed.
“This has led to apathy on the part of the public who feel less concerned except when their safety is directly threatened by activities of antisocial elements. The Nigerian Army along with other security agencies is under resourced.
“In a country of over 200 million people it is unrealistic for security operatives totalling around 2 million, including an army of just over 100,000 active personnel without a reserve force to secure the entire population.”