By Kabir Abdulsalam
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has described the amnesty program for bandits and terrorists in Zamfara and other states as ineffective.
He disclosed on Wednesday while hosting Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara state at the Army Headquarters, Abuja.
COAS said the amnesty programme had inadvertently furnished criminal elements with a golden opportunity to regroup, reorganize, and mercilessly target defenseless citizens.
His word, “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.
“So, I think we need to look at this issue of the amnesty programme because the criminal elements have proven to be incorrigible.”
Lagbaja said he had directed the deployment of more platforms and the release of funds to reactivate more operations to boost troops’ morale in the state.
He said Zamfara crisis is a mix of farmer-herder clashes, ethnic confrontations, and the quest for economic empowerment driven by mining activities.
Earlier, the Governor appealed to the Nigerian Army for continuous support in the deployment of more military wares to support military operations to restore peace in the state.
