Misinformation is now a National Security Threat, COAS Warns
Last update: June 9, 2026
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It’s not just guns and bombs anymore, fake news is being treated like a weapon of war.
Here’s the gist, as reported by cbinewstv:
Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, says misinformation and hostile propaganda have graduated from online nuisance to full-blown security threat. He said it plainly on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of the Directorate of Army Public Relations (DAPR) Combined First and Second Quarters Media Workshop 2026.
He was represented by the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Maj.-Gen. Musa Etsu-Ndagi, who delivered the message: today’s adversaries aren’t only firing bullets, they’re flooding timelines. When left unchecked, he warned, “disinformation can be as damaging as a direct security threat.”
Shaibu has been hammering this point for months, in May he cautioned that social media misuse risks operational security and military effectiveness. The Army’s broader position is the same: media professionals and military spokespeople must work together to combat propaganda and misinformation.
Why the urgency? Because public support is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a strategic necessity. Effective media engagement, Shaibu argued, is now a force multiplier for joint and multi-agency operations. The workshop theme says it all: “Media Integration as a Force Multiplier for Joint and Multi-Agency Operational Success.”
He also made a point many journalists will recognise, the media has moved beyond simply informing people. It now shapes perceptions, projects credible narratives, and directly counters adversarial propaganda. That means stronger military-media partnerships, better conflict-sensitive reporting, and real strategies to push back against fake news and psychological warfare.
Finally, Shaibu restated the Army’s core promise: safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while transforming the force into a more professional, adaptable, combat-ready and resilient organisation that can operate effectively within a joint environment.
In short: verify before you share. In this fight, the truth is armour.
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