Southern Kaduna: CSO lauds Buhari, urges deployment of more troops, equipment

Due to the reported lack of manpower to prosecute the protracted Southern Kaduna crisis, the Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative (GOPRI) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency deploy more troops and equipment to the area.

This is as the group commended President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Nasiru El-Rufai, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), the internal military outfit responsible for security in Jos and Southern Kaduna and other security agencies working in Southern Kaduna for their tireless and professional efforts towards restoring peace and order in the area.

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The group, working on sustainable peace building in Southern Kaduna and other restive parts of Nigeria, on Friday in Abuja, in a joint statement by its Executive Director, Ambassador Melvin Ejeh and Dr Kefas Kure, the Southern Kaduna Coordinator, also tasked communities in the area to key into peace-mending efforts of the Federal Government and Governor El-Rufai by reporting criminal elements involved in the crises to security agencies.

Thanking particularly the OPSH commander, Maj-Gen Chukwuemeka Okonkwo for “his relentless efforts and genuine commitment to seeing to the end of the crises that have seen many lives and property lost for years”, the organisation said that it was time for the president to hearken to appeals from different quarters for reinforcement of troops and increment of hardware to end the violence.

“We strongly Commend President Muhammadu Buhari for his love for the country, appeal to him to order more deployment of air and land troops to the area. Southern Kaduna is very key to Nigeria and the lives of the people there matter,” they said.

According to GOPRI, the proactive measures being put in place by Gen. Okonkwo and his exhibition of professionalism were major factors that prevented the escalation of the age-long crisis.

While describing the actions of some elements which have cut down lives of many in the past as barbaric, senseless, inhuman, and unjustifiable, the group tasked people not to give the situation religious colouration but a criminal issue that should be dealt with that way.

“While not holding brief for the security agencies in any form, we note that Southern Kaduna has a large land marks and a population of over two million people. How can less than 2000 security agencies do the magic of being everywhere at the same time?” they said.

They said that the crisis in some parts of Southern Kaduna was avoidable if people come together and work as team to defeat the criminals instead giving religious and ethnic colouration to the crisis at the detriment of national security, patriotism and good conscience.