Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff, has spoken out against amnesty programs for bandits and terrorists in the country.
According to the army chief, several amnesty programs have failed to achieve their goals in various states.
Beneficiaries of such programs, he claims, perceive the scheme as a way to regroup and attack innocent citizens rather than repent.
Dauda Lawal, the governor of Zamfara State, paid Lagbaja a courtesy visit in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said, “So, I want to appeal to Your Excellency that as we come up with a strategy to address the issue, the state government should be disposed to the implementation of the measures that we will recommend so that together we will address the activities of these criminal elements.
“We also have the issue of the amnesty programme that has been instituted, and which has failed, not only in the North but also in many other states.
“I think we need to look at this issue of the amnesty programmes. The agreements have proven to be incorrigible and so amnesty has created an avenue for them to reorganise and launch attacks on defenseless citizens. So, I think we need to look at that.”
