Enugu Herdsmen Crisis: Military Joint Task Force To Steps In

Enugu Herdsmen Crisis: Military Joint Task Force To Steps In

There are strong indications that the military high command in the country might come up with a joint operation involving the various security agencies to tackle the blood-letting carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen in some sections of the country.

The Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, told The Punch on Thursday that the expected operation would involve all the Armed Forces.

He further revealed that the operation would not be different from the ones formed to fight the insurgency in the North-East, the militancy in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.

The revelation came as a response to the question of what the military would do in view of the recent directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to the military and the police to stop the recurrent killing of innocent villagers by Armed Fulani militia.

President Muhammadu Buhari, reacted to the public anger that followed the killing of over 45 people at Ukpabi Nimbo Community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Monday with the presidential order to stop the current killings by the fearsome herdsmen in the country.

The Acting Defence spokesman stressed that the issue of the danger posed by the herdsmen would be accorded the deserved attention by the military.

He assured of the military effective compliance by saying, “The ideas of joint operation will always be there because it is a common knowledge that it is not a one service business. It must involve all other security agencies.

Each and every one of us has a role to play: physical security, giving information, synergising with other stakeholders. That is what we are doing in the North-East and the Niger Delta and other parts. It would involve not only the military.

The current resurgence of this issue of herdsmen is something which must be given a priority now that there is a glaring security threats to lives and property which the Armed Forces and other security agencies cannot close their eyes to.

All efforts are now on towards ensuring that there is security of lives and property in the general area where such activities of herdsmen are being carried out.

Just of recent, the President has given us a directive and it is something which we must comply with and in other cases, we deploy our men through operations such as the one against cattle rustling, Operation Sharandaji, which is to ensure that no herdsmen involved in criminal activities are spared.”