Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, has warned that the Nigerian Military will go after looters who for the past few days have been ransacking warehouses across the country.
Buratai who made the warning while addressing Principal Staff Officers, General Officers Commanding, and Field Commanders at a meeting held at the Nigerian Army Headquarters in Abuja, yesterday, said the army commanders and their men must restore law and order immediately.
He added that “there must be no room for disloyalty amongst all officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army” even as he denied allegations that his officers were supporting the miscreants in perpetrating arson, vandalism, and looting of public and private property going on in many cities
Rising from the meeting, the army spokesperson, Col. Sagir Musa conveyed what Buratai discussed with his men.
“The recent activities by unscrupulous elements have shown their desire to acquire arms and ammunition at all costs from security personnel.
“No less than 10 AK-47 rifles have been lost to these miscreants in the past two weeks across the country with attendant loss of lives of the personnel,” Musa quoted the COAS to have said during the meeting.
Buratai said commanding officers and field commanders must reiterate to all their subordinates that the Nigerian Army was determined to ensure democratic stability in the country as the only panacea for development and progress.
He directed them to stop lawlessness at all cost, and further directed them to warn their troops on internal security or guard duties outside the barracks to be at “maximum alert at all times and to also deal decisively with any attack on their duty locations.”