During a courtesy call on Wednesday in Abuja, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), expressed his views on the amnesty programme for bandits and terrorists in Zamfara and other states, describing it as a failed initiative.
He stated that the programme had not achieved its intended goals in the past, as it merely provided criminals with the chance to regroup, reorganize, and launch attacks on vulnerable citizens.
The COAS further emphasized that the amnesty programme in the North-west region, including Zamfara State, had proven to be unsuccessful.
His words: “We also have the issue of the amnesty programme that has been instituted, and which has failed not only in Zamfara, but so many other states of the North-west.
“So, I think we need to look at this issue of the amnesty programme because the criminal elements have proven to be incorrigible.
“The issue of amnesty has created an avenue for them to regroup and reorganize to launch an attack on our defenseless citizens. So I think we need to look at that.”
