November 22, 2017

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the request of the Minister of Defence, Brig-Gen. Mansur Dan Ali (rtd) for the stationing of a full battalion of Special Forces in Zamfara to check activities of bandits in the state.

The president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, said Buhari also approved the commencement of the newly-established 8 Division of the Nigerian Army in Sokoto in the new Order of Battle (OBAT).

The presidential aide revealed that Buhari also ordered a military crackdown on bandits operating in rural communities in Zamfara.

He said the president’s order followed fresh attacks on some communities in Shinkafi and Maradun Local Government Areas of the state.

The President has also approved the movement of the 1 Brigade of the Nigerian Army from Sokoto to Gusau upon the take-off of the 8 Division.

“To tackle the desperate actions of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east, through the use of mostly female, underage girls as suicide bombers, President Buhari has equally approved the setting up of an intelligence fusion centre in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, for the purpose of gathering and sharing intelligence among the security agencies in the country.

“This phase of the war will be intelligence-driven and the new centre is expected to intensify the harvesting and sharing of intelligence so as to bring to an early closure, the desperate last-minute activities of the terrorists.’’