The Nigerian Army is set to deploy another 800 officers to Darfur, Sudan in continuation of its peacekeeping mission.
Addressing the 322 battalion troop at the end of their four weeks pre-deployment training at the Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre Jaji, North West Nigeria, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Ahmed Jibrin advised members of the Nigerian contingent to live above board and shun acts capable of tarnishing the image of the country.
The GOC warned the contingent to exhibit high sense of professionalism and also respect the cultural heritage of the people of Sudan, adding that the Nigerian army will not condone any form professional misconduct from its officers.
Commandant of the centre, Major General Salihu Uba said the training was in cognisance of the Chief of Army Staff’s vision of injecting quality army peacekeepers into global and regional peace support operations.
He said the training was to equip the troop to be capable of confronting the complex multidimensional challenges of contemporary peace keeping and peace support environment, adding that Nigeria will continue sending troops on peace keeping mission in war affected countries until peace and stability return to Africa and beyond.
700 personnel of the Nigerian Army who had undergone a four-week pre-deployment training at the centre were deployed to Liberia three months ago.
Since 1960 when it inducted the first peace contingent to Congo, the Nigerian Army has since then been contributing in several peacekeeping operations at continental and regional levels.
