Nigeria

Negotiations with bandits is political - Buratai

Wednesday, October 09, 2019 at 9:44 AM by Khadijah Thabit

- The Nigerian military has described ongoing negotiations with bandits by north-west governors as political and not a military decision

- Chief of Army staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, however, said the military remained committed to flushing out the outlaws in the North, despite the peace deal with bandits

- Buratai said the Army has nothing against the bandits if peace is restored

The Nigerian military has described ongoing negotiations with bandits by north-west governors as political and not a military decision.

The disclosure was made by the chief of Army staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, in a chat with newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, October 8, ThisDay reports.

Legit.ng gathers that Buratai said the military remained committed to flushing out the outlaws in the North, despite the peace deal with bandits.

He said: “Negotiations with bandits by governors is a means of resolving disputes. The decision by governors to negotiate is not a military decision. It is political. It is war by other means.

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“We will toe the line of continuing to deal with those bandits. We have nothing against the bandits if peace is restored but ultimately, it is a political decision.”

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that nine soldiers were killed by armed bandits last week, in an area of the north-west wracked by cattle rustling and kidnappings.

The development was disclosed by military and civilian sources on Monday, October 7.

The sources stated that a military post in the remote village of Sunke, Zamfara state was invaded by dozens of gunmen on motorcycles on Thursday, October 3.

A senior military officer in Gusau, the Zamfara state capital, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, reportedly stated: “We lost nine soldiers. Investigations are ongoing to unravel what really happened.”