Troops are to go after killer-herdsmen and the
militia behind the killings in Benue, Taraba, Niger and Kaduna states, the army
said yesterday.
President Muhammadu Buhari warned in Nasarawa on
Tuesday that attacks by “herdsmen” and other bandits would no longer be
tolerated.
The Army said it would begin a special exercise
tagged: ”Operation Cat Race”, which in
Tiv language means “Ayem Akpatuma’’ to tackle the recurring herdsmen/farmers
clashes and criminal activities in the states.
Troops will be deployed in the four states from next
week. The exercise is billed for February 15 – March 31.
Chief of Training and Operations, Army Headquarters,
Major General David Ahmadu, who represented Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur
Buratai, said the exercise would be targeted at killer-herdsmen, cattle
rustlers, armed bandits, kidnappers, armed militias and other criminal
elements.
He listed other security agencies that will
participate in the exercise as the Department of States Services (DSS), the
police, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Security and Civil
Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other Security institutions.
Gen. Ahmadu said the exercise would cover the 1 and
3 Divisions representing the Northwest and North central geopolitical zones.
The Guards Brigade, 707 Special Forces Brigade, and the Headquarters Army
Command will also be involved.
He said it would also aid civil authority to address
those challenges.
“More so, Exercise Ayem Akpatuma has become more
expedient due to upsurge in cases of armed banditry, kidnapping and cattle
rustling in Kaduna and Niger states as well as other sundry crimes in Kogi
State and herdsmen/farmers clashes and attacks on innocent members of our
communities, particularly in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states by armed
militias.
“These
security challenges have continued unabated in these states, despite the
efforts by sister security agencies to curb them.
“The need for troops to be exercised, refreshed and
to imbibe the requisite skills to cope with these emerging security challenges
within the 1 and 3Divisions, including Headquarters, Army Records, Guards
Brigade and 707 Special Forces Brigade Areas of Responsibility in aid of civil
authority, calls for this exercise,’’ Gen. Ahmadu said.
According to him, it will also afford troops the
opportunity to effectively checkmate the dreadful activities of the marauding
criminal militias perpetrating criminal acts in those states and their
environs.
He said that the exercise was “conceptualised to
dovetail into real time operations, thereby fulfilling both training and
operations objectives of sharpening operational skills of personnel.
“It will also provide an avenue to conduct
operations against violent criminals when called upon,’’ he said.
The chief of Training said that the exercise would
be unique as “Step-Up Brigade Headquarters’’ would be established in Benue,
Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Niger sStates.
“Emphasis will be placed on raids, cordon-and-search
operations, anti-kidnapping drills, road blocks, check points and show of
force, as well as humanitarian activities, such as medical outreach,’’ he
added.
Ahmadu called on members of the public in the affected
states not to panic as their security, safety and well being had been
“deliberately factored in to the planning of the exercise’’.
He also assured that troops taking part in the
exercise would be guided by the professional “Code of Conduct, Rules of
Engagement and the respect for human rights’’.
He said that in case of complaints, the public could
call the “Nigerian Army Short Code Information and Call Centre 193’’.
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