For decades, Nigeria’s military has fought insurgents, bandits and separatist agitators on land and in forests. Now, a new front has opened — and it requires a different kind of weapon.
At a media workshop in Abuja on Tuesday, Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu delivered a stark warning: misinformation and propaganda have become as destabilising as armed attacks, and the Nigerian Army intends to fight back.
“Today’s adversaries rely heavily on propaganda and information manipulation,” Shaibu said in a statement read by Maj.-Gen. Musa Etsu-Ndagi. “When left unchecked, disinformation can be as damaging as a direct security threat.”
The remarks came at the opening of the Directorate of Army Public Relations’ Combined First and Second Quarters Media Workshop 2026, themed “Media Integration as a Force Multiplier for Joint and Multi-Agency Operational Success” — a title that signals a deliberate shift in how the military views its relationship with journalists.
Shaibu argued that the media had evolved well beyond informing the public; it now shapes perceptions, projects narratives and either reinforces or undermines national security. For the army, that makes reporters as strategically important as any unit in the field.
The COAS used the occasion to restate his command philosophy: building a more professional, adaptable and combat-ready force — one whose operational gains on the ground are matched by its ability to win the battle for public trust.
