Army Chief Rules Out Amnesty For Bandits, Terrorists

The chief of army staff, major general Taoreed Lagbaja has dismissed calls for amnesty for bandits and terrorists and directed clampdown on criminal elements.

He stated this in Abuja when he received the governor of Zamfara State Dr. Dauda Lawal on a courtesy visit.

He said the amnesty programme has failed to achieve its intended purpose in the past,adding that it gives criminals opportunity to regroup and attack defenceless citizens.

He thanked the governor for feedback on the activities of troops deployed in the state to restore peace.

The Army chief said while the Zamfara terrain was difficult to navigate, he had directed the deployment of more platforms and release of more funds to reactivate unserviceable platforms to boost troops operations in the state.

He said the Zamfara crisis was a mix of many things such as the farmer and herder clashes, ethnic confrontations and the quest for economic survival

He stated that the Armed Forces of Nigeria will address concerns raised by the governor and other stakeholders.

According to him,

“To the insecurity being experienced in Zamfara State, just yesterday I tasked the chief of military intelligence to tinker on ways to address the issue of and other regional groups that operate in Zamfara State, because 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.

So I want to appeal to you your excellency that as we come up with this strategy to address the issue of the Asaki and other regions, 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.”

Earlier, the governor said Zamfara was facing the most challenging security threat and appealed for the support of the Nigerian Army to address.

While congratulating the COAS for his appointment, he said the appointment of major general Lagbaja as the COAS has given Nigerians hope.