Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for directing security agents to shoot anyone found with AK-47 rifle.
Speaking at a function at the Government House in Makurdi, Ortom noted that the order would reduce the level of criminality, banditry and armed herders’ attacks on Benue communities and other parts of the country.
He said the order would make the communities safer for displaced farmers to return to their ancestral homes.
Recall that President Buhari on Wednesday directed the Nigerian Army, Police and other security agencies to shoot anyone seen with AK-47.
Naija News reports that this was made known by the President’s media assistant, Garba Shehu, during an interview with the BBC.
Asked what efforts are being made to rid Zamfara and other northern states of bandits, Shehu said Buhari directed a clampdown on bandits who have refused to surrender.
“The president has ordered security forces to go into the bushes and shoot whoever they see with sophisticated weapons like AK-47,” he said.
“He ordered that whoever is seen with terrible weapons at all should be shot immediately.”
He said the federal government declared Zamfara a no-fly zone following intelligence that arms were being transported to the bandits with private jets.
“These jets are being used to pick up gold that is being mined in some parts of Zamfara and exported. This is strong because at the moment, there is a Nigerian gold market in Dubai. The government is losing, the people of this country are losing, that’s why it is said that gold mining is banned for those who are not made by the government,” he said.