The military authorities, yesterday, disclosed that terrorists and bandits have killed nine soldiers and seven other security personnel in Zamfara since the beginning of this month, in the various operations to tame kidnapping and banditry in the state.
The disclosure is coming against the backdrop of accusations by the state governor, Dauda Lawal, on Tuesday that the “uninspiring attitude” of the police and the military was responsible for the creation of the state-owned security outfit, ‘Community Protection Guards’.
Lamenting the ‘laidback attitude’ of the police and the military in combating the menace of banditry plaguing the state in a live programme, the governor had said: “We, as governors, don’t have control over the military; we don’t have control over the police, as well as the civil defence. In most cases, we get frustrated.
“Sometimes, when you’re really helpless, when you need them (security agents), they are not there. Even when they are there, they are given certain instructions on what to do and not what to do. So, the best thing to do is to set up that kind of security outfit.”
However, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, in his response, said the Defence Headquarters cannot join issues since it is subservient to the nation’s political masters and the Constitution.
It was noted, nevertheless that the military was conducting several operations to eliminate the terrorists in Zamfara, whom the governor had acknowledged to be the epicentre of banditry in the North West.
“Nine soldiers have been killed in June alone while fighting terrorists in Zamfara State, and from our records, seven personnel from other agencies have also been killed this June. So, the military is not relenting,” the spokesman stated.
