Bandits Surrender Their Weapons in Plateau State, By Kola Adeyemi, Jos.

Bandits operating in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State have surrendered their weapons, it was learnt yesterday.

Senior special adviser to the Governor on Security and Commander of Operation Rainbow, Maj.-Gen Gak Shipi (rtd), who addressed a press conference yesterday, said: “We are all aware of the security challenges bedeviling the state, and I know attention will be on Mangu, Bokkos and Riyom, while we lose sight of other council areas with serious security challenges.

“One of such is Wase council where there have been cases of banditry, cross-border attacks and other crimes. We therefore went into collaboration with other security agencies to bring these challenges to the barest minimum. For some time now, there have been kinetic and non-kinetic operations going on in Wase, and those operations have started to yield dividends.

“Many of the bandits have been chased out of the boundaries. Some bandits were even eliminated. We also created avenue for discussion, and some of the criminals and bandits have willingly surrendered to security agencies. We have weapons turned in by the bandits themselves as evidence. We are still discussing with them and, by the next briefing, we will be able to see some of them or even interact with them.

“This forms part of government’s efforts to restore peace in the state.”