🇳🇬 Operation Enduring Peace Plants Trees, Donates Wheelchairs in Plateau

 

Operation ENDURING PEACE is fighting insecurity not just with firepower but with trees, wheelchairs, and community trust.

Zig Diaries Defence
Date: Sunday, 07 September 2025
Time: 19:00 WAT
Location: 📍 Jos, Nigeria

Sector 1 of the Joint Task Force turned to non-kinetic strategy, launching a tree planting campaign in Jos and donating relief materials and mobility aids to the most vulnerable.

Troops of Joint Task Force Operation ENDURING PEACE (JTF OPEP), on Saturday 6 September, kicked off a tree planting exercise and handed out relief support to Plateau communities. A statement by the Media Information Officer Joint Task Force (JTF) Operation ENDURING PEACE, Major Samson Nantip Zhakom, said the event, hosted at Government College Jos, was spearheaded by Sector 1 JTF OPEP.

The General Officer Commanding 3 Division Nigerian Army and Commander JTF OPEP, Major General Folusho Oyinlola said the initiative underlines the force’s resolve to “win hearts and minds” while tackling environmental and social challenges.

“Tree planting is a deliberate step to help host communities fight deforestation and promote healthier living. It reflects the new face of OPEP one committed to peace through both tactical strength and human-centered initiatives,” General Oyinlola said.

The rebranded Operation Enduring Peace, he added, is deploying “effective coordination, mapping of ungoverned spaces, and non-kinetic engagements” to choke criminal groups and restore stability across its Joint Operations Area.

Earlier, Commander Sector 1 JTF OPEP, Navy Captain MA Fana, stressed that worsening environmental degradation motivated the tree planting campaign. He praised stakeholders for supporting the outreach.

In her remarks, Plateau State Commissioner for Education, Dr Kachollom Pyam, thanked the Task Force, pledging that students would nurture the trees to revive the state’s culture of green campuses.

The event drew senior security officials, education leaders, traditional rulers, and faith leaders. Beyond tree planting, the force donated wheelchairs to physically challenged students and distributed relief materials to an orphanage home.

Fact-Check & Background Context

Fact-check: Tree planting as a non-kinetic military engagement is not new in Nigeria. Similar campaigns were conducted by Operation Safe Haven in Plateau in 2023. Independent reports confirm tree cover loss as a key driver of farmer-herder conflicts in the North Central zone.

Background: Operation ENDURING PEACE was rebranded in 2025 from earlier stabilization missions in Plateau. The shift reflects Nigeria’s counter-insurgency doctrine, which increasingly combines hard military power with community-centered interventions.

🏷️ Tags: Operation Enduring Peace, Nigerian Army, Plateau State, Climate Change, Non-Kinetic Strategy, Defence News, Community Engagement, Tree Planting, Jos News

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