Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, has ordered troops of ‘Operation Harbin Kunama lll’ to be ruthless, aggressive and decisive against bandits and kidnappers in the North-West.
He spoke on Monday when he paid an Operational visit to troops stationed at 1 Division Super Camp at Kuyelo in Kuyelo District of Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the Special and well equipped facility is strategically situated close to Dogon Dawa forest which bandits use as hideouts to disrupt the peace and security of adjoining localities of Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara States.
Troops deployed to the camp are to effectively checkmate the menace of cattle rustling, kidnapping, armed banditry and other acts of criminality in the North west zone.
The COAS used the opportunity to warn that the Nigerian Army would not tolerate any form of criminality and threat to peace and security in any part of the country, adding that the corporate existence of Nigeria remains sacrosanct and must not be jeopardized.
“The security and unity of Nigeria are non-negotiable. Those playing politics with the security and unity of Nigeria must refrain as the Nigerian Army will remain firm and decisive towards protecting the country’s integrity” he said.
He continued, “You must remain focused; you must be aggressive; you must be decisive and you must be ruthless just the way the criminals have been ruthless on the innocent lives. We should not spare them as well.
“The law must take its course more so if they are seen in the act, and indeed, carrying arms which is within the law and within the rule of engagement.
“We don’t have time to waste, we must develop, we must move ahead and we must keep our country secured.
“Nigeria is our country and we are ready at any time, to lay down our lives for the unity of our dear fatherland.
“We will not tolerate any group of bandits or terrorists or criminals to disturb our peace and any case of insecurity.
Declaring that the security situation in the country has seriously improved, Buratai said both Boko Haram in the North East and Banditry in the North West have been tactically defeated adding that there was need to finish off the battle.
While assuring troops of his commitment to their welfare on the field and in the barracks, the COAS pledged to ensure that the troops were well equipped in terms of equipment and logistics to enable them have successful operations.
Explaining the concept behind the Super Camp, Buratai said it was developed to further consolidate on their operations in ensuring that the army dealt with security challenges bedeviling the country.
“We are happy with the results that we are having both in the North-East and in the North-West here. It is just like any other deployment actually.
“This time, instead of getting them decentralized, we have a more centralized element of a more centralized forces and it is one of the principles of war.
“You provide security for the forces as much as possible to deal with the security situations and that has been quite wonderful.
“In the past two to three weeks, there have been no major attacks in the North-East because of the new posture.
“Here, apart from some isolated remote areas as a result of so many other factors, the attacks have drastically reduced” he added.
Notably, the Super Camp is located in Kuyello, the border town that links Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger and Katsina states.
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