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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Minister of State for Defence,Bello Matawalle, on Sunday led service chiefs on a visit to Plateau State.
The minister was accompanied the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu; Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla, and Chief of Air Staff, Hassan Abubakar.
Speaking with newsmen, Matawalle said President Bola Tinubu has ordered the military to “fish out those marauders and deal with them decisively.”
“As you know, the issue of insecurity is not what we should continue seeing on the pages of newspapers and television screens. You all are going to see the improvement and successes that would be recorded,” he said.
Edu said the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry will provide relief materials to the affected people.
She added that federal government will support the locals pending when they are properly resettled.
“The president has asked us to come to Plateau State and see what is on ground as well as deploy immediate relief materials to people who are currently displaced.
“We will be working with the military very closely as we will be sending a humanitarian relief team. They would be on ground for the next one month,” she said.
On Christmas eve, almost 200 persons were killed following attacks by gunmen on communities in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas of the state.
The gunmen reportedly razed houses and looted properties in the communities.