The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede has given firm assurance that the Nigerian Army will hunt down and bring to justice, all those behind the recent killings and attacks in Benue, Plateau, and other parts of the North-Central region of the country.
Lieutenant General Oluyede stated this while declaring open a media chat organised by the Nigerian Army in Akure the Ondo State capital.
The theme of the media chat is military – Media Collaboration: Panacea for Enhanced National Security and Development.
Represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 2 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Obinna Onubogu, the Chief of Army Staff said, “We shall go after them, and by God’s grace, we will get them.”
He reiterated that the military is fully committed to ending the spate of violence and will not allow Nigeria’s territorial integrity or internal security to be compromised by criminal elements.
Addressing the violence in Benue and Plateau States, he said:
“The Nigerian Army has remained engaged in Plateau, in Benue, in Kwara — in quite a number of states that are experiencing insecurity.”
“In Benue particularly, you will see, in the coming weeks, very elaborate security arrangements to ensure that all that is going on there completely stops.”
He noted that while some of the attacks are attributed to herders, there is growing concern that some perpetrators may not even be Nigerians:
“We are mindful that some of these people may be foreign elements. The behavior we are seeing is utterly despicable, the way they go about their work. It does not reflect any kind of national identity or value system.”
Oluyede emphasized that the military has received clear directives from President Bola Tinubu to act decisively:
“The President has given very clear orders for us to go out there. And so we are out — fully deployed — and tackling the menace head-on.”
He appealed to communities and local stakeholders to support military operations by sharing timely intelligence:
“The Army cannot be everywhere at once. Nigeria is a vast country, and we are not as large in number as many people believe. We rely heavily on the support and cooperation of the local population to provide timely and credible information.”
“In some cases, unfortunately, the people are not very helpful in terms of the information they give out, which delays our reaction time. That must change if we are to win this fight together.”
On combating misinformation and sensational reporting, Oluyede called on media personnel to verify facts before publication and help in building national unity:
“The social media space, especially, is flooded with misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies. That is part of why we are here — to clarify issues and appeal to the press to reach out to us before putting out unverified stories.”
“We are satisfied with the support we’ve received from the media so far, and we hope to deepen that synergy to ensure national security is not undermined by sensational reporting.”
The COAS stressed that military efforts are only one part of the broader solution to insecurity:
“The Army performs about 20 to 30 percent of what’s required. The rest involves civil cooperation, intelligence, and addressing the root causes of these conflicts.”
He assured Nigerians that: “Whatever it takes, we shall ensure that these activities — particularly in North-Central Nigeria — are brought to a stop. We are on ground, and we will continue until peace is fully restored.”
