The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has said that he was happy that “we are living in peace and Nigeria is safer now than we were five years ago.”

The claim by the army chief came amid unending calls for the service chiefs to either resign, or be sacked for their perceived failures to address the insecurity situation in the country that has continued to worsen in recent years.

But, speaking when he visited Wounded Soldiers in Action (WIA) in 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna on Sunday, Buratai said Nigerians were living in peace and safer than the period preceding his appointment.

The wounded soldiers, it was learnt, were officers and men injured during various operations against insurgency.

“I am very happy to see you, having met some of you in the battlefields, you were determined to pay the supreme prize. This is the true spirit of a gallant soldier and a patriot.

“I am proud you have made the impact that some of our colleagues and Nigerians are safe and I am equally happy that we are living in peace and Nigeria is safer now than we had five years ago,” Buratai said.

He promised the wounded soldiers getting adequate medical attention.

He said, “I understand you also need recreational facilities here. Some are also needing promotion, it has been taken note of and will be addressed accordingly.

“We will continue to send our officers to see how we can get you rehabilitated through skills acquisition programme so that when you recuperate, you can go back to the field.

“Let me assure you that the fight against insurgency is a collective effort and this can be achieved through our determination and teachings we have been taught and applying them on the field.

“Your allowances have been brought to my notice by the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital and we will see how it can be offset.

“We must develop these facilities here, that equipment we don’t have we will get, so you don’t need to get surgery elsewhere.

“This is one of the hospitals we have upgraded. We have done the same in Yaba and elsewhere. We are also constructing Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Maiduguri and also we have one in Abakaliki.”