The commander of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Maj Gen Sunday Igbinomwanhia, has said the military will continue to review its tactics and methods against the enemies of the state.
Igbinomwanhia’s statement was made at a stakeholder meeting that drew participants from Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba states on Wednesday.
He said that synergy between civilians and military authority had helped OPWS succeed in reducing the clashes between farmers and herders in the three states.
He added that the security situation between farmers and herders has immensely improved compared to 2017, due largely to OPWS’ use of force and peaceful means.
“This has greatly helped in reducing killings as well as criminality and has restored normalcy. The mandate of the operation is to put an end to the incessant killings of innocent citizens by armed robbers, bandits, armed herdsmen, militia groups, and other criminal elements in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba states,” Igbinomwanhia said.
The Benue State chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Aondongu Saaku, said that both crop and animal farmers needed peace while lamenting that the continued clashes between the two groups were threatening food security.
A member of the civil society organisation, Dr Victoria Daaor, said that dialogue is the best option to broker peace between farmers and herders.
Daaor, therefore, commended OPWS for such a laudable initiative, stressing that it was the right way to go.