Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), has ruled out amnesty for terrorists and bandits in Zamfara and other places in the country.
The COAS stated this when he received Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, who was on courtesy visit to his office, in Abuja, that the amnesty programme had achieved its purpose in the past, saying it only gave criminals the opportunity to regroup, reorganise and attack defenceless citizens.
He said: “We also have the issue of the amnesty programme that has been instituted, and which has failed not only in Zamfara, but so many other states of the North West.
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“So, I think we need to look at this issue of the amnesty programme because the criminal elements have proven to be incorrigible.
“The issue of amnesty has created avenue for them to regroup and reorganise to launch attack on our defenceless citizens. So I think we need to look at that.”
Gen. Lagbaja expressed appreciation to the governor for giving him feedback on the activities of troops posted to restore peace in the state, and directed the deployment of more platforms and release of funds to help foster boost the operations of the troops in the state.
He noted that the crisis in Zamfara was multi-faceted, including farmer-herder clashes, ethnic confrontations and the search for economic empowerment driven by mining activities.
However, he gave assurance that the troops were determined to restore sanity in the state.
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“We will not have a situation where some people constitute themselves into outlaws and just go into communities and kill children and defenceless women,” he said.
“By working on this with the state government and other critical stakeholders we can eliminate these outlaws and reduce the insecurities by a significant percentage.
“So I want to appeal to you Your Excellency that as we come up with this strategy to address the issue of the “Yan Sakai and other regional groups, the state government should be disposed to the implementation of the measures that we will recommend.
“So that together we will address the activities of these criminal elements.”
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Governor Lawal, while lauding the troops for their efforts to checkmate insecurity in the state, also lamented that insecurity had grounded development in the state, including education, farming and other economic activities.
He had told the COAS that the state had been confronted by several securityllenges and pleaded with him for more assistance.
According to him: “In fact, I will say without mincing words, that Zamfara is the state that is facing the most challenge in the area of insecurity today.
“Therefore, for me, being the number one citizen, part of my responsibility is protecting lives and properties, but I cannot do this alone.
“I, therefore, need the support of the Chief of Army Staff and his entire team in bringing peace to Zamfara, as well as Nigeria in general.
“We need to have more people, especially the military to be deployed to Zamfara and complement the efforts security officers are making in combating crime.”