The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai on Wednesday announced the deployment of Army troops to Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kogi, Niger and Kaduna states to tackle the security challenges there via an operation codenamed Exercise AYEM AKPATUMA billed to run from February 15 to March 31, 2018.

The deployment is coming on the heels of persistent clashes between farmers and herdsmen and other acts of criminality in those states which have resulted to several deaths and destruction of property worth several billions of naira particularly in Benue and Taraba states.

The COAS, who announced this at a press conference at the Army headquarters in Abuja, said the troops will carry out special operations in the affected states in conjunction with other sister security agencies from the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps among others.

He said the exercise is necessitated by increased spate of armed banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling in Kaduna and Niger states as well as other sundry crimes in Kogi State and herdsmen/farmers clashes and attacks on innocent villagers in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states by armed militias.

Read full speech here: https://newsworth.ng/buratai-deploys-troops-benue-taraba-4-others-exercise-ayem-akpatuma/

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