Give Us Free Hand To Wipe Out Terrorists, Army Tells Governors

Nigerian governors have been urged to give the Army a free hand in the fight against terrorism in the country.

The Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja made the request.

The Army also ruled out amnesty again for bandits terrorising the North West zone of the country.

Lagbaja warned the criminals to flee the country with immediate effect.

He made the comments while playing host to the Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal.

He said:

“Your Excellency, I think we need to look at this amnesty programme. The criminal elements have proven to be incorrigible.

“So, the issue of amnesty has created an avenue for them to regroup and re-organise and launch attacks.”

The army chief’s disclosure came on the heels of the recent calls made by the former governor of the state, Sani Yerima, that bandits should be given amnesty.

Yerima had asked President Bola Tinubu to negotiate with terror gangs operating in Zamfara State and other parts of the Northwest of the country.