Tinubu’s new Army depots to train 12,000 recruits

The Nigerian Army’s two newly approved training depots in Osun and Ebonyi states will have the capacity to train 12,000 recruits simultaneously as President Bola Tinubu moves to expand military manpower amid persistent insecurity.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the facilities were part of the administration’s efforts to strengthen the military’s operational capacity.

The depots are located in Osogbo, Osun State, and Amasiri-Edda, Ebonyi State, with each designed to accommodate 6,000 recruits at a time.

According to the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, the Osogbo facility is already training 5,210 recruits.

He said the expansion of military training infrastructure was expected to reduce recruitment turnaround time and increase the number of soldiers available for deployment.

The council also disclosed that Tinubu had approved the recruitment of an additional 28,000 soldiers to reinforce military operations across the country.

The president was also said to have approved the recruitment of 50,000 police officers to improve internal security and strengthen the country’s response to criminal activities.

Alake said the administration had equally created four new Army divisions and restructured existing military formations to expand operational coverage and enable troops to respond more quickly to security threats.

The measures form part of Tinubu’s proposed Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan aimed at addressing terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other security challenges.