By Mohammad Ibrahim
Kaduna (Nigeria) – Former Nigeria’s Chief of General Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai (rtd), has accepted to head a committee on solutions to stamp out attacks on communities in Southern Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria.
The Kaduna State Government disclosed this on Saturday in a press statement made available to newsmen.
The announcement by Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the State Governor, Samuel Aruwan, said the committee is part of the government’s multi-dimensional approach to finding lasting solutions to the killings in the area, which have continued since the post-election violence of 2011.
The committee’s terms of reference according to the statement is as follows:
“To identify socio-political and economic factors that promote existing conflicts in Southern Kaduna and advice on measures to be taken by Government to address them;
“To explore ways of finding mutual solutions that engender reconciliation amongst and between communities in Southern Kaduna; and to advice on how the villages and communities of Southern Kaduna would be free from attacks bedeviling it.
“The committee has 30 days within which to complete its assignment and submit its report.”
General Agwai’s credential include his present service as United Nations envoy in Sudan. He had served as Deputy Military Advisor to United Nations in its New York headquarters.
Also, between 2007 and 2009 he served as Commander of the combined United Nations – African Union Peacekeeping Force in Darfur, where he led one of the biggest peacekeeping operations in the world, with approximately 20,000 troops and 6,000 police under his command.
The statement by Aruwan further says, in the ongoing efforts to contain the security challenges in parts of the state, Governor El-Rufai on Friday held an emergency meeting with heads of security agencies in the state.
The meeting reviewed the security situation in the state following attacks in Katsak and Danborno villages in Jema’a and Birnin Gwari Local Government Areas respectively.
The meeting analyzed the incessant attacks and collated first-hand details from the sites of the latest attacks.
The meeting also appraised the deployment of security personnel and stressed the importance of partnerships between traditional rulers, religious leaders and other critical stakeholders in strengthening intelligence gathering.
