Military Operations Alone Cannot End Banditry, Osita Okechukwu Says

Osita Okechukwu, a founding member of Nigeria’s All Progressives Congress (APC) and former director general of Voice of Nigeria, said Sunday that military operations alone cannot end banditry in the country. He praised National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu for expressing the same view at a brainstorming session in Sokoto organised by the Sokoto Advancement Forum and Usmanu Danfodiyo University’s Centre for Peace Studies. Okechukwu said military action must be complemented by building community trust, protecting agriculture and rural livelihoods, and preventing young people from joining criminal networks. He said progress should also be measured by families returning home, farms and schools reopening, markets functioning and public confidence being restored.