Don’t hurriedly handover liberated communities, Governor tells military

Gov. Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa on Friday urged the military not to be in a hurry to handover insurgency liberated communities in the state to civil law enforcement agencies.

Bindow made the call when he received members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on handing over of insurgency liberated communities to civil law enforcement agencies at the Government House in Yola.

It will be recall that the Ministry of Defence inaugurated a 25-man Inter-Ministerial Committee on the planned handing over of areas liberated by the military to civil law enforcement agencies.

The governor said that though the powers of the insurgents had been degraded, there was need for military to maintain areas until the war had finally ended.

Bindow said that the presence of the military had given the people more confidence to return home, adding that any rush withdrawal would affect the people psychologically.

He commended the Federal Government for sharing the ugly feelings of the people of the state in particular, and the North- East, in general.

He also commended the efficient intelligence gathering of security agencies in the state, adding that the team was the best he could work with.

Earlier, Maj.-Gen. Fatai Alli, the leader of the committee sent to Adamawa, said that their mandate was to consult with stakeholders and report back to the Federal Government.

Alli said, "definitely we are going to hold a town hall meeting with the security agencies in the state.

"We will visit all the affected areas and consult with the relevant stakeholders in order to produce an objective report.

"Most of the places occupied by the terrorists have been liberated, therefore, it is imperative to consolidate on the gains achieved by restoring civil authority in the liberated areas.

"As we are here today, some of our colleagues have gone to Borno and Yobe states to carry out the same assignment.’’ Alli said.