Nigeria Declares No-Fly Zone In Northwest State
Zamfara, Northwest Nigeria has been declared a no-fly zone by Buhari.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has declared Zamfara a no-fly zone to put down a growing threat from terrorists in the Northwestern state.
Buhari also approved a ban on mining activities by non-state actors in the state.
The decision comes after a spate of attacks in Zamfara State that has become an epicentre of operation for terrorists.
Last Friday, terrorists seized 279 girls at Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Talatu-Mafara Local Government Area of the state and whisked them away to an unknown destination.
The girls were released Tuesday morning after a joint rescue operation was established.
Meeting security chiefs on Tuesday in Abuja, President Buhari said the level of violence in the state called for desperate measures, emphasising the government would not be blackmailed by the terrorists.
Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser (NSA), relayed the President’s message to State House correspondents at the end of the national security council meeting presided over by the president on Tuesday.
According to Monguno, the President had ordered defence and intelligence organisations to double their efforts in rescuing the country from sliding into anarchy.
He said the service chiefs had been directed to reclaim all areas in control of insurgents and kidnappers.
“We are not going to be blackmailed. The government has the responsibility to assert its will,” Monguno said.
He said the federal government would not hesitate to use kinetic means to restore public safety and security in the country.
“Citizens can reside wherever they want to reside. Anybody who is a criminal should be brought to book.”
“The president has also warned against ethnic profiling. We have had enough of chaos,” he said.
“Any individual that thinks he can cause disunity, should have a rethink.”
The terrorists operating from the large swathes of forests straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger states have continued to challenge the security apparatus deployed by the government to resist them.
The crisis, according to the HumAngle investigation in 2020, has forced over 70,000 community dwellers in those states to flee, crossing the border into the Niger Republic to seek refuge.
But a series of recent brazen attacks have raised concerns that fighters have become emboldened with the Nigerian president saying that the latest violence begets serious measures.
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No-Fly-Zone against who, civil aviation, military aviation or terrorist aviation? I’m having difficulty understanding this…who is the FGN trying to deny airspace usage to…I hope FGN isn’t trying to deny airspace use by government aircraft that have three ability to crush or expose the crimes being committed below…or do terrorists now have aircraft to aid their operations? It doesn’t make any sense!