The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Olufemi Oluyede, on Wednesday, issued a marching order to the Nigerian Army to flush out bandits terrorising Baruten and Kaiama Local Government Areas of Kwara State, as well as Borgu in Kainji Forest, Niger State, within one month.
Addressing troops at the 22 Armoured Brigade, Sobi Cantonment, Ilorin, Kwara State, Oluyede stated that the Nigerian Army would not allow the insurgency in the North-East to spread to the North-Central.
He emphasised the Army’s responsibility to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity, saying, “No single part of the territory will be allowed to be taken over by insurgents in any form — whether as bandits, Boko Haram, or by any other name.”
While inspecting the military guard of honour, Oluyede declared, “I’m giving you one month from now to recover all territory in Baruten, Kaiama, and areas in the Kainji forest. These must be restored to Nigeria’s territorial integrity.”
He insisted that bandits must be flushed out of the region within the timeframe.
“All of you have promised to fight and recover whatever the insurgents might have taken from the country, and I believe you will keep that promise,” he said.
Oluyede explained that he was touring the country to ensure national security, stressing that “The country is facing some challenges, and we must push the insurgents out. In the next one month, I don’t want to see any of the insurgents within our borders again,” he said.
The Chief of Army Staff also pledged improved welfare for troops, including better feeding, uniforms, education, and medical support.
“I want to see soldiers become good medical doctors, engineers, and other professionals. We’ve begun interventions like providing 100,000 units of uniforms monthly and allocating ₦1bn monthly for soldiers’ feeding. We’ve also improved accommodation facilities”, he noted.
Recall that a group identified as Mahmuda recently emerged in Kaiama and Baruten LGAs of Kwara State, while seven persons were killed on Monday in Ilesha Baruba, Baruten LGA, by a yet-to-be-identified group.
