The Federal Government has unveiled plans to deploy military veterans to help secure Nigeria’s ungoverned spaces as part of strategies to strengthen national security and drive economic activities in conflict-affected areas.

This followed the inauguration of an 18-member committee by the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), tasked with reclaiming ungoverned spaces for economic viability and repositioning the Nigerian Legion Corps of Commissionaires and Veterans.

A statement on Wednesday by the Ministry’s Deputy Director of Information, Enderline Chukwu unbehalf of the Director Information and Public Relations, said the committee was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Ministry of Defence headquarters, Abuja, with the minister represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Richard Pheelangwa.

Speaking at the event, Musa said the deployment of veterans into ungoverned spaces would complement ongoing military operations by bringing experienced personnel into local security and development efforts, particularly in areas where state presence remains weak.

According to the minister, the initiative reflects a strategic shift from an over-reliance on military offensives to a more inclusive and sustainable approach to security that tackles the socio-economic drivers of insecurity.

“The Minister of Defence Gen. Christopher Musa (retd) has inaugurated an 18-man membership committee on “Reclaiming Ungoverned Spaces for Economic Viability and the Repositioning of the Nigerian Legion corps of Commissionaires and Veterans” as part of a renewed effort to strengthen Veterans welfare and ensure active participation of military veterans in strengthening national security.

“The Minister reeled out the three terms of reference of the committee to include: (1) To reposition the veteran community to support national economic development. (2) To deploy veterans to secure Ungoverned Spaces and ensure that the areas are brought under effective oversight and development.

“(3) To reposition the Nigerian Legion Corps of Commissionaires, strengthen operational effectiveness, facilitate veterans reintegration and promote their contribution to national security.”

Musa stressed that the initiative was part of the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that veterans who served the country with honour are empowered to live productive lives after retirement, while still contributing to national stability.

“Deliberate integration of veterans into security and development initiatives would enhance local ownership, improve intelligence gathering and foster trust between communities and the state,” he added

He urged committee members to adopt innovative and forward-looking approaches that would produce actionable recommendations capable of supporting a holistic strategy for securing ungoverned spaces, promoting inclusive growth and sustaining peace.

Members of the committee were drawn from the Joint Services Department of the ministry, the Nigerian Legion, Defence Headquarters, the Defence Intelligence Agency, the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the offices of the Ministers of Defence and State for Defence.

Before now, there have been growing calls for the integration of military retirees into Nigeria’s security architecture, as a way of reducing the heavy reliance on overstretched serving personnel deployed across the country.

With this recent move by the Defence Minister,  if fully implemented, the prevalence of criminal activities in our ungoverned spaces across the country could be significantly reduced, while easing operational pressure on frontline troops and strengthening community-based security efforts.