The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu has deployed 302 Special Forces to Kaduna State as part of efforts to tackle banditry, kidnapping and other related crimes in the state.
This is as troops of the Nigerian military have killed seven bandits in Birnin Gwari local government area.
The troops under Operation Puff Adder were drawn from the Counter-Terrorism Unit, Mobile Force and Special Forces of the Nigerian police.
According to the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Umar Muri, they will be deployed to troubled areas in Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Chikun, Zango Kataf, and Igabi local government areas of the state where the menace of banditry has continued to be a nightmare for the residents.
Addressing the troops ahead of their deployment, the Police boss charges them to take the battle to the doorsteps of the bandits and restore normalcy to the troubled areas.
“Being the lead security agency saddled with the responsibility of internal security of the state and country at large, the sole aim of this Operation Puff Adder is to reclaim space from criminals that are threatening our internal security order,” he said.
“The dynamic nature of crime continues to present new trends which makes it imperative that we continually evaluate strategies and then emplace new operational architecture with a view to sustaining the gains already recorded.”
Kaduna and other states in the northwest zone are no doubt facing difficult times as a result of the rising case of banditry and kidnapping in the area.
The attacks have led to the loss of lives of citizens of the zone, with thousands of people currently displaced from their homes, while in some cases, Security agents pay the supreme price in trying to battle the bandits.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai, represented by his Commissioner for internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, was also on the ground to see the troops ahead of their deployment and to also offer them some words of encouragement.
Flagging off the operation, the governor asked the troops to consolidate on the gains of Operation Puff Adder 1, by helping to restore peace in the troubled areas in Kaduna state, while assuring them of the state government support for the success of the operation.
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