The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai says the Nigerian Army will collaborate with sister agencies to bring a decisive end to armed banditry in the North-west zone of the country.
The Army Chief stated this at the commencement of this year’s Nigerian Army Day Celebration in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
General Buratai explained that the week-long event was being marked in Katsina State to boost the morale of frontline troops in the war against armed banditry in the North-west zone of the country.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a directive to the armed forces to extinguish the fires of banditry in the zone, through the ongoing ‘Operation Sahel Sanity’.
He tasked the troops carrying out the operation under the ‘8 Division’ and the ’17 Brigade’ of the Nigerian Army to locate every bandits’ camp in the forest and deal with them decisively.
The Army Chief assured communities across the five affected states that the army in collaboration with sister agencies would defeat armed banditry.
“The troops will move into the bush and defeat them tactically, that is our mission, and that is what we want to achieve. Anything short of that will only prolong the security crises.” So we are determined to deal with them in the bush or wherever they are, even in the towns and cities. We will deal with them decisively,” Buratai reiterated.
This year’s Nigerian Army Day Celebration has the theme “Nigeria’s Territorial Defence and Sovereignty: the Imperative for Nigerian Army’s Sustained Training and Operations”.
