In compliance with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian Army has approved that two battalions be stationed in southern Kaduna to stop the killings in the area.
The general officer commanding, 1 Division, Kaduna, Maj. Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade disclosed this yesterday in an interview he granted to journalists.
According to him, the two battalions will be stationed in Southern Kaduna for as long as it is necessary.
“As it is well known,” he said, “the Army has approved two battalions to be stationed in Southern Kaduna. One of them is in Kafanchan. So, we are not leaving.
We will be there for as long as it’s necessary.
He also disclosed that the Army had mopped up arms and ammunition from Fulani herdsmen and villagers in the area, as part of efforts to end the crisis in the area.
Oyebade said, “We have presently mopped up arms from the Fulani herdsmen and the locals. Our operations, based on intelligence gathering, are still ongoing and we are also working with the Department of State Services.”
“We have other fundamental issues in the area, which the political leadership needs to resolve. The governor has engaged various stakeholders and, as our operations continue, peace is returning.”
He noted that, as a result of the peace in the area, people had started returning to their villages.
He, however, noted that it will take them some time to calm down. “They are repairing their burnt houses and they are also clearing their farmlands. We have assured them of maximum protection on their farms, and also for the Fulani herdsmen when they need to lead their cows for grazing,” he said.
…PMB Orders IGP To Deal With Violence In Southern Kaduna
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has given the inspector-general of police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, marching orders to halt the wanton killings going on in southern Kaduna.
According to a statement by his senior special assistant on media, Garba Shehu, on the directive of President Buhari, the IGP was in the troubled region on Saturday and Sunday to assess the situation first- hand.
As a result, a squadron of mobile policemen has now been stationed there, in addition to the conventional policemen deployed in the area.
According to the statement, the Nigerian Army is also in the process of setting up two battalions in Southern Kaduna while the military continues to carry out air surveillance across flashpoints of the area.
President Buhari has equally directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to carry out a joint assessment of the situation with the sister agency in Kaduna, SEMA, to determine the level of response required for urgent aid to be delivered to the victims of the violence.
Shehu said, “These measures should soon ensure the return of normalcy to the region while the Kaduna State government continues its peace building efforts.”
According to him, the president praised the efforts made so far by the state government and the security agencies to curtail the violence.
