Following the cries of Nigerians for an arrest of the increasing attacks by the suspected Fulani herdsmen against host communities in parts of the country, the nation’s military has announced plans to launch Operation Accord that would tackle the menace.
This was disclosed yesterday by the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, General Gabriel Olonisakin, while receiving the acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris at the Defence Headquarters, DHQ in Abuja.
According to Olonisakin, “the armed force is preparing to launch ‘Operation Accord’ to tackle the menace occasioned by armed bandits in the recent spate of farmers and cattle herders’ clashes across the country.”
He said: A committee has been set up by the DHQ and had visited some flash points of recent clashes in the country to assess the situation, he stressed that troops were being trained with the competence to operate in all terrains, especially in tackling the state of insecurity created by the herdsmen.
Olonisakin went on to state that the Nigerian military and police must collaborate in order to restore, maintain and sustain security in the country.
Speaking earlier, Idris pointed out that the military and the police must collaborate more to stay ahead of security challenges in the country. He proposed a joint operations command to coordinate all security operations in the states.
He, however, solicited assistance from the military in the training of the Nigeria police marine unit to enhance security operations in the Niger Delta region.
The IGP revealed that the police had taken over the responsibility of providing security in nine Local Government Areas in the North Eastern part of the country.
“The police have been briefed to take over 19 local government areas but only nine has been taken over,” he stated.
