By ZAKAA LAZARUS-Abuja.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division, Sokoto and Commander, Joint Taskforce (North West) Operation HADARIN DAJI (OPHD), Major General Godwin Mutkut has said, own troops gave farmers adequate protection leading to bumper harvest
within the theater of operations.
General Mutkut also debunked rumor making round in the media of military involvement in bombing civilian in Zamfara State.
According to him,”Not all of them are guilty, there are one of two people like those kidnapped that are with them, but there are times they come out and say they must stay with them,. That one, we don’t know. For those kind of people we ensure that the aircraft does not just bomb indiscriminately but most at times when we bomb, the bad ones are the ones been bombed and we know all the enclaves.
“Anybody trying to say something out of this maybe saying out of nothing. We in the military know where they are and those are the places we have been bombing.
“The reasons why we carry out these operations in the first place is to protect civilians so they can go about their businesses. The civilian population are central to our operations.
“We try as much as possible to make sure that these civilians do not mix with the bandits. We ensured they do not stray into areas where the bandits are. We go as far as protecting them in their farms. We had a programme last year where we protected civilians in their farmland.
“We rotated it among communities so we can have more men to protect them. That yielded a lot of results and also led to bumper harvest. I think it’s something that is worthy of emulation by others. At all times the civilians are the key people that we protect.”
However General Mutkut also identify some of the pressing challenges impeding successful military operations against banditry and other sundry crimes in the North West.
General Mutkut noted this when he received a team of Defence Correspondents from Abuja, who were led by the Deputy Director, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Defence Headquarters, Abuja, Brigadier General Mohammed Dahiru Abumawashi.
While answering questions from newsmen, General Mutkut also revealed that they know all the enclaves bandits are hiding, adding that, “no military in the world have enough of all the logistics to go into battle and we have same.”
He therefore wished they have enough men that can stand, enough platforms that they can ride in and confront the bandits.
Another challenge, Mutkut disclosed was the size of the military.
He said, “Another challenge is the size of our military, I think we need more men, and I know efforts are been made to ensure we have more men, the complain now, if you interview the soldiers they will tell you they have over stayed, but the good thing is we are rotating them.
“Overall is a thing of sacrifice; challenges can be, but it is how we sourmount those obstacles that makes us a civilized military. Challenges are part of every institutions.”
Speaking further, he revealed that, “We know where all the bandits are, we know all those enclaves, we know that the bandits dug up places and hide there whenever the aircraft is passing.”
While debunking the allegation civilian victims in their bombing campaign against the bandits, the GOC explained that,
Earlier in his remarks, Brigadier General Abumawashi stated that the essence of the media tour was to “give true perspective of our operational activities and also to avoid manipulation of our operational occurrences by enemies of the Nigerian state to perpetrate their evil acts of portraying the country in a bad light.
“Also to deepen the relationship between the military and the media by spearheading media access to enable direct interaction with the frontline formations and units, so as to have the true picture of things.”
During the tour, the team received a comprehensive briefing from General Mutkut overing a wide range of topics, including the operational responsibilities of 8 Division and OPHD, the ongoing operational activities, inter-agency cooperation, Civil Military Cooperation activities, troops welfare, as well as achievements and challenges.
After the briefing, the Correspondents proceeded to Headquarters 8 Division Garrison, where they were warmly received by the Commander, Brigadier General Alex Tawasimi.
The Commander accompanied the Correspondents to the hinterland Forward Operating Bases within Sector 3 Sokoto, where they had the opportunity to interact with rescued kidnapped victims and engage with local communities.
The next leg of the visit took the team to Gusau, Zamfara State, the location of the Headquarters of Operation HADARIN DAJI. where the engaged with local communities to gain insights into the impact of military operations in their areas and assess the sentiments of the local population.
The media outreach visit was aimed to provide the Defence Correspondents with firsthand experiences and insights into the operational activities and impact of the military in the region. It also served as an opportunity to foster greater understanding and communication between the military and the media.
