The Nigerian Navy has emerged the winner of the maiden Paintball competition organized by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) Abuja in collaboration with Forest Hunters.
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In a statement, the Director Information Navy, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan said that the competition which was organized as part of the activities to commemorate this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day (AFRD) took place at Three Bridges Park, Idu at the FCT.
According to him, the AFRD is an event celebrated annually on 15 January to remember the fallen heroes who died in active service and to honour military veterans added that it is also to celebrate serving personnel who work indefatigably to secure the country and safeguard our sovereignty while ensuring peace and internal security.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General LEO Irabor was the Special Guest of Honour at the competition and while addressing the audience, he disclosed that the Paintball competition is novel in the Armed Forces.
However, DHQ considered it worthwhile because of what it represents for the Armed Forces and the youths of Nigeria. “It is envisaged that events like this will deepen military-civilian interaction in our country”.
He added that, “paintballing as a sport date back to 1960 in the USA. It involves a simulation of a live-combat scenario using dummy ammunition with paint bullets, among other things.
The competition gave spectators inkling into what happens on the battlefield where troops engage the adversaries and, in some cases, pay the supreme price across the hotspots of the country. The event is envisioned to promote inter-agency cooperation among the security agencies in line with my vision for the Armed Forces of Nigeria”.
On his part, the Lead Representative of the Forest Hunters Adventures Limited Abuja, Mr Bayo Omoboriowo, explained that the competition was to depict the sacrifice the military makes to have a united and peaceful Nigeria.
He further explained that the game was categorized into Novelty Knockout 1 and 2 as well as Novelty Final.
The participating teams comprised the DHQ, Nigerian Army, NN and Nigerian Air Force. On completion of the novelty final, the NN emerged winner of the competition and the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo CFR was on ground to present the trophy to the team and medals to the participants.
The CNS also commended the winning team for emerging the best.
The event was well attended by senior military officers of DHQ and the Services’ Headquarters as well as personnel and their families including well-wishers of the Armed Forces.
