Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal called on the Nigerian Army to carry out coordinated operations in the North-west to stamp out banditry in the region. Tambuwal made the call on Monday, when the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Faruk Yahaya, paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Sokoto, the state capital.
The governor disclosed that the operations of the army in Zamfara State were having a negative effect on Sokoto State, especially, the Eastern part of the state, hence the need to carry out the operations simultaneously.
“Between yesterday and today, we have lost many people in Goronyo Local Government Area of the state,” he said, adding that before now, the situation in the state was not as bad. He appealed to the Nigerian Army to review its operations in the state.
The governor also asked the Chief of Army staff to deploy more troops, resources, and intelligence to the state to end the banditry. He promised that his administration would do everything in its powers to support the security agencies to end insecurity in the state.
Earlier, Yahaya commended Tambuwal for his support to security agencies in the state. The army chief, who was in Sokoto, his home state, on his first visit since his assumption of office as Chief of Army Staff, said he was in the state as part of a familiarisation tour to divisions across the country. The purpose, he said, was to interact with troops and encourage them on their duties as well as hold security meetings with governors and relevant stakeholders.
He said the perpetrators of criminal activities across the country were also human, and said there was need to work with everyone to track down the criminals among the people.
In a related development, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, prayed for the continuous success of the security agencies against criminal elements in the country. While receiving Yahaya in his palace, the Sultan said he was always happy to receiving army personnel, having being one of them before ascending the throne. He disclosed that Sultan’s Palace remained home to everyone, not only the army chief, but every Nigerian, irrespective of where they came from or their religious background.
The Sultan said his council would continue to pray for the army chief and his people, saying the task before them is more than the civil war era
