Following the recent statement by President Muhammadu Buhari's, linking marauding herdsmen with Libya, the Defence Headquarters on Saturday said it has handed over 162 suspected herdsmen to the Nigerian Police for investigation in to possible existence of ties with foreign governments.
The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. John Agim stated this in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja. He said the Police would establish whether the herdsmen were actually trained as hitmen by the Late Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.
The statement disclosed that while 147 herdsmen were handed over to the Benue State Police Command, 15 others were handed over to the Taraba State Police Command since the Operation Ayem Akpatuma started on February 15. He further said during the operations that led to the arrest of the herdsmen, troops recovered guns and other weapons from them.
The statement read in part;
“We have handed over the suspects to the police. The rest is for the police to find out. If I start telling you whatever, I am doing the police’s job. Before the herdsmen are taken to court, the police would profile them appropriately and know where they get their training from.
You must understand that the President of the country has a helicopter view of the country. He has a lot of information at his disposal. So, wherever they (the herdsmen) come from, they are causing havoc to our country and that is very important to us. And that is what all of us must fight to prevent.
The President has disclosed this information based on the intelligence at his disposal and you cannot doubt that.”
