Benue killings: Army chief meets Alia, appeals for support, cooperation with military to end menace

From Molly Kilete, Abuja

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, has appealed to the government and people of Benue State to support the military with credible and timely information to end the attack on innocent citizens of the state by herders and other militia groups.

Oluyede made the appeal when he met with the governor of the state at the government house, Makurdi.

The army chief relocated the state on Tuesday morning following the incessant attacks and killings that have been going on in the state for some time now.

Gen. Oluyede, while assuring the governor of the determination of the Nigerian army to end the senseless killing and destruction of property in the shortest possible time, however, told the governor that the military cannot do it alone as it would need the cooperation of the locals to carry out their operations.

While describing the killings as senseless, the army chief said the time has come for people of the state to work as one and support the army with credible information to end the barbaric acts, as soldiers cannot be everywhere.

He assured the governor of the continuous support of the Nigerian army to protect the territorial integrity of the Nigerian nation and to protect the citizens of the state to go about their lawful businesses.

Welcoming the COAS to the government house, Governor Alia thanked the army for taking the killings very personally by visiting the state and assured him of government support to the military to win the fight against banditry and other violent killings in the state.

He equally commended the Nigerian army operations in the state, which he said have done a lot to reduce the attacks on villages and communities.

The governor said that the visit of the COAS would no doubt change the narratives of the operations in the stage for good.

Gen. Oluyede, who arrived Benue alongside his Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) and other top army commanders, first visited the headquarters of Operation WHIRL STOKE in Makurdi, where he was briefed by the commander of the operation, Brigadier General Moses Gara, on updates of the operations.