President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed why security forces haven’t deployed force against bandits in the country.
In a statement released by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Friday, February 26, the president noted that security agencies have not moved against bandits because of the fear of “heavy casualties of innocent villagers and hostages” that may be suffered in such operations.
“We have the capacity to deploy massive force against the bandits in the villages where they operate, but our limitation is the fear of heavy casualties of innocent villagers and hostages who might be used as human shields by the bandits,” he said.
Buhari, who also described the latest abduction of hundreds of students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Zamfara State, as inhumane and totally unacceptable, said no group was too strong to be defeated by government.
“A hostage crisis is a complex situation that requires maximum patience in order to protect the victims from physical harm or even brutal death at the hands of their captors. Let them (bandits) not entertain any illusions that they are more powerful than the government. They shouldn’t mistake our restraint for the humanitarian goals of protecting innocent lives as a weakness or a sign of fear or irresolution,” he said.
