Group urges recall of commander of Operation Safe Haven

• CSOs task FG on IDPs’ safe return to homes
A group, Buhari Tarzarce Vanguard (BTV), has urged the Defence Headquarters to recall the redeployed Commander of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), Maj. Gen. Anthony Atolagbe.

Its coordinator in Jos, Muhamed Biba, appealed to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin to reverse the redeployment.

This, he, said was necessary to avoid the people from holding the authorities responsible for further bloodshed in the state.

The group, which is canvassing support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 re-election, said Atolagbe’s redeployment was in bad light.

The group, at a press conference in Jos, alleged that the commander was removed because he displayed courage in arresting some killer herdsmen in Barkin Ladi Local Council Area of Plateau State.

A fortnight ago, the group had after an extraordinary emergency meeting, appealed to the president to review the plan to redeploy the commander.

He said at the time that they made the appeal, “the security situation was tense, and given the proactive and professional competence the commander displayed, residents’ confidence were boosted.

The group commended Atolagbe for relocating his operational base to the area to tackle the attacks, and appealed to President Buhari to prevail on the military high command to reverse the redeployment.

According to him, allowing the development to stand would create negative impression in the minds of the Plateau people.

He added that several arrests had been made and were still being made in the area, adding: “More importantly, many heart rending confessions had been made by the suspects taken into custody.

Meanwhile, a coalition of civil society groups in Benue State has implored the Federal Government to fast track the safe return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes.

Leader of the coalition, Justin Gbgir, made the call in a statement yesterday in Makurdi, the state capital.

The coalition expressed concern at the rising humanitarian situation in the IDP camps.

The leader disclosed that the people, who were displaced by invading herdsmen militia, have been suffering in eight camps, without care from the Federal Government.

Gbagir lamented that the state was now at the brink of hunger crisis, due to the inability of the people to go back to their farms.

He stressed that the current political tussle in the state, also constituted an assault on democracy and democratic ideals.