Newly appointed Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), has instructed troops to “sh%%t on sight” and immediately engage any armed bandits they encounter, stressing that they must not wait for further directives.
Speaking during his Senate screening on Wednesday, Musa said this firm order is crucial for frontline protection and restoring public trust in Nigeria’s security response.
He issued the directive while addressing lawmakers’ concerns about delays in giving commands during insurgent confrontations.
According to him, once deployed, troops automatically carry the mandate to neutralise armed criminals.
He stated, “You are to engage any criminal or any bandit that is armed and about to k+ll you. You don’t have to wait. Once you are deployed, you automatically have that responsibility.”
Musa warned that no soldier should claim to be waiting for authorisation during imminent d+nger.
He said, “Somebody’s aiming to sh%%t at you, you’re waiting for orders, from who? If any member of the armed forces deployed anywhere tells you that he’s waiting for an order, he is lying and he’s only a c@ward.”
He also announced a plan to withdraw soldiers from routine checkpoints and redeploy them to active conflict zones, while the police and NSCDC take over checkpoint duties. This, he said, would allow soldiers to “go into the bushes and take out these criminals.”
Musa stressed the importance of restoring security for farmers, noting, “Farmers must be able to go back to their farms. If people can’t eat, you can imagine what will happen.”
On the rising k+lling across regions, he described the perpetrators as “a bunch of ev+ll people on dr¥gs,” warning that terrorists exploit gaps in security coordination. “No Nigerian must be k+lled for whatever reason,” he added.
He acknowledged the high expectations tied to his role, “I know that I cannot afford to fail myself, fail my nation.
