Nahimat Adekoga
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered Inspector-General of Police, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), Service Chiefs and others to immediately bring an end to the recurring acts of violence and destruction in Southern part of Kaduna State.
Buhari, meanwhile, welcomed the recovery of another Chibok school girl, Rakiya Abubakar, in the Alagarno area of Damboa Local Government Area of Borno state, saying her recovery has renewed hope that other abducted girls will one day be reunited with their relatives.
The president’s reactions were contained in two statements issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina and Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu in Abuja on Thursday.
The statement by Shehu came barely hours after Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), condemned the recurring violence that had led to several residents’ death in the state, urging the Federal Government not to procrastinate in offering well-thought out responses to the act.
Apparently reacting over criticism from citizens over silence of the president, Special Assistant, noted that the president has over the past week, given instructions for decisive measures, aimed at bringing an end to the recurring acts of violence and destruction in the Southern part of Kaduna State.
He explained that in compliance with the President’s directive, the Inspector-General of Police visited the region last Saturday and Sunday, assessing the extent of damage caused by the violence.
Shehu added that aside the conventional policemen deployed to the state, a squadron of mobile policemen has been deployed to the state to quell the crisis.
According to him, the Nigerian army is also in the process of setting up two battalions in Southern Kaduna while the military continues to carry out air surveillance across flash points within the region.
He further disclosed that the president has directed National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to embark on joint assessment of the displaced residents with their Kaduna state counterpart, SEMA, to determine the level of response required for urgent aid to the victims of the violence.
“These measures should soon ensure the return of normalcy to the region, while the Kaduna State government continues its peace building efforts.”
On the rescued Chibok girl, Buhari commends the military for the diligent investigation which led to the recovery of Rakiya, even as he urged them to intensify efforts to arrest fleeing Boko Haram members and rescue the girls left with the terrorist group.
The President assured Nigerians that his administration would continue to assist the military in locating the abducted Chibok girls and eradicating the menace of terrorism in Nigeria.
He stressed that they should continue in the spirit with which they cleared the Sambisa forest which was once the stronghold of the terrorists.
