The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa has said he will rid communities that have been stifled of insurgents and bandits.
General Musa made this declaration on Monday’s inaugural broadcast of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, when he called for public help to reach this aim.
“We are working with the state government to identify these areas, this year God willing we will make sure bandits hold no community,” he said.
“Members of the community will be able to leave the IDP camps and be able to go there”
The nation is yet to heal from a Christmas Eve attack by marauding assailants on Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi local government areas t in Plateau that left 2 00 people dead and hundreds more injured.
Repeated attacks on the region in the space of days have left many disillusioned with the efforts of security personnel at tackling the growing crisis, which General Musa says collaborative efforts are the only feasible means of ending acts of terror in the region.
The Chief of Defence Staff claimed the motive behind the Plateau carnage was to “embarrass” everyone and take the government for a fool
“I think the purpose is to embarrass everybody and to make the government look stupid and whoever did this we are up on their heels and making some arrests”
“The general area where this incident occurred is not a small area and people question why the military was not able to react quickly.”
“We cannot be everywhere ,” he said while responding to the military’s delay in accessing the terror-prone areas.
Political Challenges
On the challenges the military face in their fight against banditry, General Musa said they were of a political nature that requires decision making from the political class
“The truth about it is that the challenges we are facing are political challenges and it is only when decisions are taken and directives have been given that we can take them, ” he said.
“The military can only do so much, only they go back and cant get the support from the government , that is why it is important that we work together as a team”
“It is a political decision not a military decision on what is to be done,”
General Musa also bemoaned criticisms from various quarters over the military’s effect on ending the scourge of banditry
“What we try to avoid is to make our troops feel unappreciated”
“They are doing so much and I can guarantee that we are achieving a lot ”
“It is that one goal that the enemy has been able to get over us that people leverage on”
“It is quite unfortunate that people have died and its is painful for us as commanders,” he said.