A day after armed bandits attacked Nigerian troops in Jibia, Katsina State, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai has visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa.
The meeting in the Villa comes after Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina claimed that opposition elements are behind banditry and terrorism in the north.
The Chief of Army Staff briefed the president on the situation in the North-Western part of the country as well as the Army’s activities after meeting the president Monday.
Speaking with State House Correspondents, Buratai called on Nigerians to support the military and other security forces in the battle against insurgents and bandits
He said, “If you want insurgency and other acts of criminality to end today, the totality of the people’s effort must be put into the matter so as to see that insecurity in the country is reduced to the barest minimum.
“But if we don’t do anything and continue to complain, and continue to accuse the agencies involved in fighting it, then we are not helping matters.
“You are supposed to find solutions as something is being done on daily basis. I assure you that we will soon reach the end of the tunnel and we will see the light that will improve the security situation in all parts of the country.”
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The Chief of Army Staff admitted that though securing the country was not an easy task, the army was equal to the task.
“We are still carrying out our task and we will deal with them. You know securing a country is a task that everybody knows and we will prevent the country from any form of insecurity and in this case, you know the military task is very clear; to defend our country from external aggression, to defend our territorial integrity and to come to the aid of civil authority, which we are doing.
“So, the same task that we should end curtail or bring to the barest minimum, the issue of banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and insurgency and we will do it. We are essentially supporting the Nigerian Police and we will do it to make sure that our country is safe,” he assured.
Meanwhile, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State claimed that enemies of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are behind the attacks by bandits and Boko Haram in the northern part of the country.
Speaking at a meeting with APC chieftains in the state, Governor Masari said politicians are sponsoring the attacks to make the party appear not in control so they could be voted out in 2023.
Recently, Katsina has seen a spike in activities of bandits and these have led to the abduction of people for ransom, killings and destruction of property.
The governor said community leaders could support the fight against insecurity by giving useful information to the security agencies.
“Most of the bandits and Boko Haram attacks facing the northern part of the country are sponsored by some politicians who are enemies of the present APC government at both federal and state,” he said.
PRNigeria
