81 Division of the Nigerian Army on Friday in Lagos said the army was committed to securing the territorial integrity of the country.

General Officer Commanding (GOC), 81 Division, Maj.-Gen. Isidore Edet said this in his remarks at the closing ceremony of the competition for warrant officers and senior non-commissioned officers in 9 Brigade, Lagos.

Edet, who was represented by the division’s garrison commander, Col Sunday Igbinomwanhia, congratulated the officers for participating in the competition.

According to him, there is no substitute to training, especially in the armed forces.

He said what had been witnessed today proved that the army was up to the task of securing the territorial integrity of the country.

He urged the participants to keep up the good work.

The 9 Brigade Commander, Brig.-Gen. Sanni Mohammed said he was satisfied with the drilling, stressing that training and retraining was paramount.

The competition was aimed at testing the proficiency of officers on weapon handling and map reading for effective military operations.

The competition was also to test the warrant officers and senior non-commissioned officers on obstacles crossing, drill and combat swimming.

The competition is also aimed at enhancing leadership qualities and physical fitness of officers.

The units that took part in the competition included 9 Brigade, 35 Artillery Brigade, 45 Division Engineers and 81 Division Garrison.

At the end of the competition, 9brigade came first, 35 Artillery, second, 81 Division came third and 45 Division came fourth.