Assures ” This year,God willing we will make sure Bandits hold no community “.
The Chief of Defence Staff CDS, General Christopher Musa has said that the challenges of the military to quickly rise to quell insecurity is political and requires the collaborative effort between the political class and the military to nip it in the bud.
Speaking on Channels Television programme on New Year morning, General Musa said that the Military is working with the state government in a bid to identify the areas prone to attacks and flush them out bandits and insurgents.
“We are working with the state government to identify these areas, this year God willing we will make sure bandits hold no community,”
“Members of the community will be able to leave the IDP camps and be able to go there”
The CDS’s declaration comes 9 days after bandits ( on Christmas Eve) attacked several communities in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi local government areas of Plateau that left over 200 people dead and hundreds more injured and homeless.
As the shock of the Christmas Eve tragedy was still fresh, another community in Bokkos suffered a similar fate as Bandits raided the community killing some members of the community.
General Musa who claimed that the frequent attacks in Plateau was a deliberate ploy to “embarrass everyone” and “to make the government look stupid “
“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”
On why the military was unable to react quickly to the plateau massacre, He said “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 ,”
Speaking on the challenges the military face in their fight against banditry, General Musa said ,
“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, ”
“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,”
On the barrage of criticism against the Military in the wake of the recent plateau attacks,General Musa said that troops are doing so much and should be appreciated .
“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 it is painful for us as commanders,” the CDS added
