The Nigerian Army has rejected a plea for bandits and terrorists to be given amnesty.
Its Chief of Army Staff, Maj Gen Taoreed Lagbaja argued that the amnesty program has failed in the past, adding that it allows criminals to regroup and attack unarmed citizens.
He made his rejection known to Governor Dauda Rawal of Zamfara State in Abuja during a courtesy visit.
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The COAS thanked the governor for the feedback on the activities of the troops deployed in the country to restore peace.
He stated that although the terrain in Zamfara was difficult to navigate, he ordered the installation of more platforms and the release of more funds to reactivate the disabled platforms to ease the movement of troops in the state.
According to him, the crisis in Zamfara was a combination of factors such as the conflict between farmers and herdsmen, ethnic confrontation, and the quest for economic survival.
Notwithstanding, the Army Chief promised that the military would address the concerns raised by the Governor and other stakeholders.
The COAS said:
“On insecurity being experienced in Zamfara state, just yesterday I tasked the Chief of military intelligence to think on ways to address the issue of Yan Sakai and other regional groups that operate in Zamfara State.
“We will not have a situation where some people constitute themselves into our law and just go into communities and kill children and defenseless women.
“Working in this with the state government and other critical stakeholders we can eliminate this outlook and reduce the insecurities of in the state by a significant percentage.
“So I want to appeal to you your Excellency that as we come up with our strategy to address the issue of the Yan Sakai and other regional groups, the state government should dispose to the implementation of the measures that we will recommend so that together we will address the activities of this criminal elements.
“We also have the issue of the amnesty program that has been instituted, and which have failed. The criminals agreements have proven to be incorrigible and so the issue of amnesty has created avenue for the groups to reorganized and launch attacks on defenseless citizens.”
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