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Fidelis Soriwei, Abuja
Strong indications emerged on Thursday that the military high command in the country might come up with a joint operation involving the various security agencies against the menace of Fulani herdsmen in the country.
The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, told our correspondent on Thursday that the expected operation would not be restricted to a single service of the Armed Forces.
He said that the operation would be similar to the ones formed to battle the insurgency in the North-East, the militancy in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.
Abubakar was reacting 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 hapless villagers by armed Fulani militia.
Buhari‘s directive followed the public outrage that greeted the murder of 50 people at Ukpabi Nimbo Community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Sunday.
The Acting Defence spokesman added that the issue of the threat posed by the herdsmen would be given the deserved attention by the military.
He said that the military would ensure effective compliance with the presidential directive to stop the current killings by the rampaging herdsmen in the country.
“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.”
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