By Deji Abdulwahab
Abuja – The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has commended Nigerian Military for checking herders/farmers, Tiv/Jukun crises in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju, in Abuja on Tuesday, BMO described as successful feat, military decision to wind down Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), after more than a year.
Akinsiju said: “The planned phase withdrawal of troops from Benue,Taraba and Nasarawa states is a clear indication of successful efforts by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to ensure peaceful resolution of communal crises in North-central Nigeria.
“This means that security challenges, triggered by recurring herdsmen/farmers clashes and Tiv/Jukun crises, have been checked,” he said.
According to BMO chairman, there is no better way to determine the outcome of the military operation ordered by the president in the aftermath of the crises than the decision to wind down Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) after more than a year.
“When the nation was gripped by reports of renewed communal clashes and violent killings in Benue and Taraba in the first instance, it was not surprise that opposition elements capitalise on the situation in the run-up to the 2019 general elections.
“But the President’s decision to send in troops has proved to be a masterstroke that even officials of the two states that were the epicentre of violence have recently acknowledged that there is peace in the region,” he said.
Akinsiju commended the military for not resorting, strictly, to the use of force in the face of extreme hostilities in some cases.
(NAN)
