Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, says Lamidi Adeosun, his deputy, saved him from an ambush in the north-east in 2015.
Speaking at the inauguration of a bridge named after him in Osun state on Monday, Buratai said Adeosun, chief of training and operations, was able to mobilise some troops to repel the bandits.
The army chief praised his deputy for his methods against the Boko Haram insurgents in the north-east.
“When I had the first ambush, he was with me in the vehicle, by my side on the 18th of September, 2015, and I can see the courage he exhibited,” he said.
“He was able to mobilise the troops to counter the bandits, the criminals, the terrorists out of the way. His elevation is not new to me. He deserves it.
“When I was appointed as the chief of army staff, I met Lamidi Adeosun at the north-east, I met Adeosun as the commander of operations there, and he started the rejigging processes of the Nigerian army and we commenced our upward and progressive movement towards the technical defeat of Boko Haram.”
Buratai said the army is determined to embrace professionalism in the discharge of its duties.
“The Nigerian army engineering corps is one institution that has played a very important role in infrastructural development,” the army chief said.
“They are professionals, experts, and deliver quality at a very cheap cost.”