Yobe Killings: Army Deploys Additional Soldiers As Northern Govs Demand Action

Following Sunday’s attack on Mafa Village, Tarmuwa Local Government Area, where rebels slain at least 34 villagers and set several houses blaze, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa on Wednesday said the military would be deploying additional soldiers to the state.

Gen. Musa made this disclosure when he received theState Governor, Mai Mala Buni in Abuja as the Northern State Governors’ Forum condemned the attack, demanding that the perpetrators be tracked down and made to pay for their crime.

CityMirrorNews had earlier reported that the bodies of the victims, which were retrieved from the bush, were buried on Tuesday, with the state’s Deputy Governor, Idi Gubana, leading a government council on a consolation visit to the village on Tuesday.

A statement made available to newsmen by the state’s Director General of Media and Press Affairs, Mamman Mohammed, disclosed that Governor Buni went to Abuja on Wednesday to have a talk with the CDS over the security situation in Yobe.

Expressing deep concern over the escalating incursions of terrorists into the state, Governor Buni emphasised the need to address the attacks on soft targets along the borders, where lives are lost and properties are looted.

“Generally, there have been great improvements in security across the state, except for the recent incursion of the terrorists from across the borders, and attacking the border communities.

“Sadly, three days ago, we recorded terrorist attacks on Mafa a border village with Borno State, and a few days earlier in Geidam, a border community with the Niger Republic, in which we lost several lives.”

“Have discussed extensively with the CDS to find a lasting solution to these incursions and attacks on the border communities”.

“l am pleased with his response, and the new strategies he assured to undertake to check the menace and excesses of the terrorists to safeguard the lives and property of our people,” Buni said.

The Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Yahaya, on Wednesday, strongly condemned the Sunday terror attack.

Yahaya, in a press announcement signed on Wednesday by Director-General Press Affairs Gombe Government House Ismaila Misilli, characterized the attack as a senseless act of violence that had caused immense grief to the affected families and communities.

“This brutal act must not go unpunished. I call on security agencies to double their efforts and ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice,” Yahaya stated.