Photos: See how El-Rufai and Buratai laid foundation for lasting peace

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna state, together with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen.Tukur Yusuf Buratai, on Saturday, February 4, laid the foundation for the building of a military battalion to enhance internal security in Southern part of Kaduna state.

Performing the ground breaking of the battalion located in Kafanchan,headquarters of Jama’a council area witnessed by Kaduna State Governor,Malam Nasir El-Rufai, traditional rulers and top military officers, Buratai,said his men will comb hideouts in the forests and hills to fish out criminals terrorising the area.

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Buratai,noted that President Muhammadu Buhari,has approved two military battalions to be established in Southern Kaduna to restore peace even as he said they were not going to take sides.

The army chief commended governor El-Rufai support to the security forces tackling the threats in Kaduna South.

Buratai,who earlier paid courtesy visits to the Chief of Kagoro, Ufuwai Bonet and Emir of Jema’a, Alhaji Muhammad Isah, at their palaces, said he was in Southern Kaduna to meet with his officers and men who had been deployed to the area to ensure peace.

According to him: “I am here on operational visit to the troops deployed in Southern Kaduna. It is part of my routine schedule to visit our troops.It is part of our constitutional duty to defend our territorial integrity and to also provide internal security.

We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for approving two military units in Southern Kaduna. We appreciate the traditional rulers for supporting our troops.

We hope the issue in this part of the Kaduna State will come to an end. We are calling on all to live in peace with one another.

Historically, you cannot separate herders and farmers and there is need for them to live in peace. With our men on ground peace is returning”

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We are here to make sure that there is peace here so that people will go about their normal business” Buratai said.

On his part,Governor Nasir El-Rufai,said the establishment of two military formations in Kaduna South senatorial district fulfilled his promise he made during 2015 elections campaign to secure life and property stressing that perpetrators of the crisis would be prosecuted even if the person is his son.

El-Rufai, who was full of hope to an end of the attacks and killings in the area commended President Buhari for his determination to end the crisis which persisted over thirty-five years.

“We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the two military battalions in Kaduna South senatorial zone.

We will provide military with facilities to deploy it’s personnel as many as they can to secure Southern Kaduna” the governor said.

The Northern Christian Youth Assembly commend the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai for laying the foundation for the building of a military barracks in Kafanchan in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna state in a development that we know would go a long way to curtail the menace of maurading killers that have plunged too many communities in the area into mourning.

This was contained in a press statement signed by its National Chairman Peter Bawa says the building of a military formation in the area as a way of shortening troops’ deployment time and ensuring that troublemakers within that vicinity shorteniare given a hot chase and no longer have anywhere to torment the peace of the people.

The statement:

For us, General Buratai’s prompt implementation of the barracks project as approved by the President and Commander in Chief is a demonstration of the administration’s sincere commitment to ensuring the safety of lives and property of all citizens irrespective of political or religious leanings.

It has gone a long way to again show that we truly have responsible and decisive leadership that is willing and able to confront any emerging evil to ensure Nigerians can live in peace to enjoy their own country.

While we remain confident in the ability of the Nigerian Army which is one of the best in the world to bring perpetrators of all the deadly attacks around that vicinity to justice within the shortest period of time, the subsequent completion of the barracks would further boost the confidence of the people in the neighborhood in the military of their country.

Those politicizing and attempting to give the Southern Kaduna crisis a religious coloration would do well to now hold their fire and allow the mechanisms for peaceful resolution put in place by the state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai to yield fruits for the overall benefit of the Nigerian state.

We commend Governor el-Rufai for these initiative even as we appeal to him not to be discouraged by seeming misunderstanding of his good intentions for the people of Kaduna state.

Meanwhile, we urge the Nigerian Army not to hesitate in arresting and investigating anyone linked to arming any side of the conflict irrespective of their status in the society or religious affiliation. In addition, we appeal to the Federal Government not to allow anyone fished out as being culpable in the attacks to escape justice irrespective of what roles they had played or are playing in the government.

Nigerians would like to hear the last of these senseless killings so that citizens, especially those engaged in agriculture, can go back to earning their livelihood while making valuable contributions to the economy at this time when the country is pursuing diversification."