Buratai: Military can track bandits if they can locate citizens
Former Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen Turkur Buratai says Nigerian troops have capacity to locate bandits if they can find ordinary citizens, speaking Monday on TVC about rescuing Oyo schoolchildren abducted earlier this week. Bandits kidnapped multiple schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State, beheading one teacher in the attack. Buratai questioned why security agencies can locate citizens but not bandits: 'I don't believe security agencies cannot locate bandits if they can locate ordinary citizens and social media influencers.' He emphasized need for capacity building: 'We need more troops to be recruited, more operatives, more policemen need to be recruited, trained and retrained.' Recent military operations rescued 23 kidnapped passengers in Kogi and neutralized suspected terrorists in the state, while bandits killed an Islamic cleric in Kwara and invaded Plateau community, leaving eight residents dead. With bandits operating across multiple states, Buratai's comments raise questions about whether Nigeria's security challenges stem from resource limitations or strategic gaps in counter-insurgency operations.