Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff, has assured residents of the North West that the Army would clear the remnants of cattle rustlers and bandits terrorising their communities in a few days.
He said the security challenges in the North West would be largely addressed by the end of the Army’s training in Bakura forest of Zamfara on Friday.
Buratai gave the assurance when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State in Gusau, the state capital, on Monday.
He said the training was organised as part of activities to mark the 2016 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) in Gusau.
“The 2016 Nigerian Army Day Celebration is an extended celebration that fully incorporates real-time security operations amid our routine training.
“While we celebrate, we will also address issues relating to insecurity in Zamfara State and parts of the North West in general,” he said.
Buratai noted that the Army was also using the 2016 NADCEL to boost public confidence in the service through various programmes, including medical outreaches and display of the Army’s capabilities.
“We will also go to the South-South in particular to clear out all the criminals that are operating there and others that are threatening to divide Nigeria,” he said.
Yari, represented by his deputy, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala, expressed hope and confidence that the issue of rustlers and bandits would eventually be addressed.
He assured the Army of the support and cooperation of the state government and the entire populace of Zamfara in their effort to address the challenge.
