Crime
Kaduna killings not carried out only by herdsmen – GOC
By OKOSUN DENNIS
The killings that have taken place in Southern Kaduna in recent times have been described as barbaric and uncalled for.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), Maj Gen Adeniyi Oyebade claimed that the killings are not only carried out by herdsmen but other natives are involved.
Reacting to the recovering of haul of arms in Southern Kaduna, the army boss said the
“killing is not one-sided. The killing is not only carried out by the herdsmen but other people are involved.
“Whosoever commits atrocities will be hunt down. If the local are not ready to cooperate with the security agents, such killings could continue, Gen Oyebade reiterated.
He emphasised that there was no gun that was not deadly admonishing people to shun stockpiling arms and appealed that whoever that is currently having arms in his/her possession should hand it over to the security agents. “Local gun are as deadly as those sophisticated weapons.”
The GOC reiterated that in the last few months, his division has achieved a lot tackling cattle rustlers and the herdsmen. Acknowledging that every military operation is challenging, pointed out that despite that, the troops are working 24/7 to ensure that of their areas of operations are secured. “We are in Zamfara, Katsina and have achieved a large measure of successes,” he added.
Debunking that no soldier or officer was being court-martialled, said “we do not condole unprofessional conduct among the troops. We observe rules of engagement in our operations,” Gen Oyebade added.
National Dailyrecalls that troops in Southern Kaduna recovered large cache of arms last Saturday, three days after the army launched a special Operation: “Harbin Kunama 11 – Sciorpion Sting”, to flush out the activities of armed bandits from the area.
The operation was launched at Kaura Local Government Area on April. However, during cordon and search in Gwaska, Dangoma, Angwan Far and Bakin Kogi general area led to the recovery of 73 dane guns, four locally made rifles, one locally made machine gun and one pistol.
Other recoveries by the military, National Daily gathered, were 260 cartridges, 14 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 63 rounds of 9mm of ammunition, one locally made small machine gun magazine and a pair of used military combat boots.