The Nigerian Army asked all terrorists and bandits, especially those in the Northwestern region, to surrender unconditionally, stressing that negotiating with them was not an option.

The General Officer Commanding 8 Division, Nigerian Army Sokoto, Major General Godwin Mutkut, made the statement while inaugurating RSM House at the 1 Brigade Cantonment. He retained that they would not negotiate with those bent on threatening the nation’s peace, stressing that the terrorists had already exhausted their limit; hence they should surrender.

He said: “Nobody negotiated with them before they entered the bush; now that the fire is hitting them, they want to negotiate, well I won’t call it negotiation. They should just come out and surrender; negotiation is a trap; they have done it in the past, and it did not yield any result, so why still repeat the same mistakes.”The Commander noted that the Army won’t relent in its continuous efforts to clear terrorists from the region. He reiterated that the military would not negotiate with the bandits but instead go after them in their hideouts to eliminate them.

He advised that if the bandits wanted to survive at the hand of the troops, they should come out from their hideouts to surrender.

Mutkut revealed that the troops have been going to troubled places like Zurmi, Shinkafi, Tsafe, Dansadau, and other troubled areas in Zamfara State despite the rainy season, dislodging the terrorists from their hideouts.

He, however, advised District Heads and communities in Zamfara State to form groups that will protect their communities when there is a distress call before the arrival of the troops in the troubled area.