Nigerians Mark Armed Forces Remembrance Day

Today is Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Nigeria, an annual event to commemorate the nation’s servicemen and fallen heroes.

The event, celebrated on January 15 each year, also honours veterans of World War I and II, as well as the Nigerian Civil War. It is a day set aside for sober reflections on the significance of the armed forces to the country.

While the Armed Forces Remembrance Day is celebrated on November 11 every year globally, it is known as the armistice day, commemorating the end of the first World War.

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But with the formal end of the Nigerian Civil War following the surrender of the Biafran secessionists on January 15, 1970, the date was changed to mark the restoration of Nigeria’s unity.

Amid the celebration in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari led a wreath-laying event and reviewed a presidential parade at the National Arcade in Abuja.

He is expected to be joined by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kayode Ariwoola; and the service chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, among other dignitaries.

Though the prayers were to be said in both Christian and Islamic ways, President Buhari as the Special Guest of Honour at the event would lay a wreath to honour the fallen heroes.

Thereafter, Professor Osinbajo and others will take turns to pay respect to the soldiers who paid the supreme price while protecting the nation’s territorial integrity.

In the course of the celebration, ceremonies are scheduled to hold across various states of the federation during which governors are expected to pay tributes to the nation’s fallen heroes.