Retired Major General Umar I. Mohammed, in a Daily Trust TV interview, critiqued the Nigerian military’s current strategy of dispersing security forces across multiple locations, arguing it weakens their ability to combat bandit leaders like Bello Turji effectively.
He advocated for a concentrated deployment approach to maximize impact. Mohammed highlighted Nigeria’s dual security challenges: resurgent insurgency and rampant banditry, particularly in the northwest. He noted that Turji has become a notorious figure synonymous with violence and killing in Zamfara State, symbolizing the region’s security crisis.
Mohammed expressed confidence in the Nigerian military’s capacity, stating it is bigger and stronger than the bandits and capable of crushing them if properly deployed.
However, he identified a key flaw in spreading forces thinly across numerous posts, such as maintaining small units of 10 to 20 soldiers at over 50 points in Zamfara. This dispersal, he warned, creates vulnerabilities that bandits exploit, enabling attacks that fuel propaganda narratives suggesting the military has been overpowered, despite these incidents involving only small units, not the army’s full strength.
Instead, Mohammed urged the military to deploy in full strength to achieve decisive victories, ensuring a robust and unified presence to overwhelm criminal elements.
The retired general provided a specific example of his proposed strategy: “We can be able to mobilize like 5,000 Army and face Turji—he will abandon where he is. That’s my belief.”
His critique underscores the need for strategic realignment to restore public confidence and effectively tackle banditry, emphasizing that concentrated force would better showcase the military’s true capabilities and deter figures like Turji, ultimately strengthening Nigeria’s security framework.
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