Army Disagree With Ortom, Say Troops not Overstretched or Overwhelmed

Nigerian Army has rejected comments by Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom that the Military in the state are overstretched or overwhelmed by superior firepower of armed herdsmen.

In a statement on Tuesday by the Commander, Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Major General Adeyemi Yekini, he said the Military has restored normalcy in the state by curtailing the activities of the armed herdsmen and recovering territories held by them.

“We are not overstretched or overwhelmed. No, we are not. Every military operation has a mandate and we believe we have substantially fulfilled our mandate not just in Benue, but also in Nasarawa and Taraba states.

“We know how we met Benue State in particular when we got here. The security situation then was characterised by mass killings by armed herdsmen and other acts of brigandage by warlords such as Gana and Ojoundu, who carved out parts of the state for themselves” he said.

“We made it possible for the Benue State government to reassert political authority over places like Katsina Ala, Gbise, Gawa and so many other rural communities in Logo, Ukum and Kwande Local Government Areas, which hitherto were being controlled by some of these warlords.

“We assisted greatly in preserving Benue as the food basket of the nation in spite of all odds. Thanks to OPWS, Benue today is exporting trailer loads of foodstuff to other parts of the country almost on daily basis thereby boosting the state’s IGR” Yekini added.