Mohammed Munirat Nasir, Gusau
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin says the current scourge of banditry activities in the north west will soon be a thing of the past with the launch of operation Sahel Sanity.
Olonisakin gave the assurance on Monday at the Nigerian Army Super Camp IV in Faskari town while on inspection of the Exercise Sahel Sanity operational base.
The Chief of Defence Staff said Exercise Sahel Sanity is a realtime exercise which is aimed at tackling banditry in Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi as well as Kaduna and Niger states.
“From the briefing that I have just received and from what I have seen here today at this Nigerian Army Super Camp, there is no doubt in my mind that the scourge of banditry will soon be a thing of the past and all law abiding citizens will be able to resume their normal lives,” he said.
He said in the last five years of the fight against insurgency, banditry and other criminality, the armed forces have constantly re strategize, restructure and develop models and approaches to better position to address the nation’s security challenges.
Olonisakin explained that the Nigerian Army Super Camp concept is one of efforts at repositioning the Nigerian Army to better contain the security challenges.
“To this end, I want to assure the COAS of the support of the Defence Headquarters in whatever capacity maybe required towards achieving the objectives of Exercise Sahel Sanity,” he assured.
The Chief of Defence Staff paid tributes to officers and men of the Nigerian Army and the entire armed forces who through their selfless services have continued to make tremendous sacrifices towards ensuring the restoration of peace and normalcy in the country.
“I must commend the resilience and relentless spirits of all the personal taking part in this important exercise and all other operations across the country to ensure peace and security for our people as well as protect the territorial integrity of our father land,” he said.
Earlier, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai assured Nigerians that the ongoing Operation Sahel Sanity will bring about reasonable state of security in the north west .
“Within this few days that Exercise Sahel Sanity commenced, tremendous successes have been achieved in the areas of clearing the bandits, arrest of bandits informants and logistics suppliers and also the rescue of kidnapped victims, recovery of rustled cattle’s and most of other criminal activities stopped,” he said.
Buratai commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his support to the fight against insurgency, banditry and other crimes in the county.
“Today marks exactly five years of the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff, my humble self and the other Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari. We thank Almighty God for giving us good health and i assure you that we have not disappointed in carrying out our responsibilities,” he said.