Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, (CDS) Major General Christopher Musa has attributed the sharp increase in the number of Nigerians killed as a result of banditry and insurgency in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of last year to the strict adherence of the armed forces to professionalism and rule of law.
Defending the increased casualties in an interview on Channels Television programme, Politics Today on Thursday night monitored by Newsmata.com.ng, General Musa however insisted that any civilian killed during military operations is a “legitimate target”.
Presented with current statistics of 2,266 deaths in the first half of 2025 as against 1,083 for the same period last year, the CDS said, “That’s because we are professional Armed Forces. We obey the law, so it makes it difficult. And then, the person you are fighting knows the importance. So, what he does, he commits an offence, he gets within the crowd, and then it becomes a problem. If you strike, you become the enemy of the people.
“Everybody cries that you’re killing innocent civilians, so you have to weigh both sides. And that’s why we also preach that anyone found to be supporting these bandits, and you are with them, you are a legitimate target, and we will definitely strike you”.
General Musa lamented that “And for political reasons, most times when this happens, people want to make it look as if we’re just going around and killing civilians. No; most of these so-called civilians were the ones providing them fuel, providing them food”.
The Defence boss also underscored the importance of young Nigerians acquiring one form of training or another for the purpose of self-defence, noting that that is what the National Youth Service Corps is supposed to do.
He however regretted that “The NYSC’s training has been watered down to three weeks”. According to General Musa, “I think it’s important that we’re able to give every Nigerian one security awareness at whatever level. Self-defence is very important. Armed combat, swimming, driving, these are critical aspects for human endeavour. Those are things we should never take for granted because it prepares you for the future. The world we are in now is dangerous.
“We have individuals that don’t mean well for the people. They kill for whatever reason, and it is not only in Nigeria. I am sure, you know, even abroad, you see somebody will take a weapon and go to a school and open fire on everybody.
“Everybody is supposed to be ready to protect himself as an individual. So, it means you should take Judo lessons, take karate lessons, and make sure that you are physically fit to be able to withstand anything and don’t want to take things for granted. I think education on security is what we don’t do”.