Police Rescue Unconscious Man Found on Awka Roadside

(Police rescue middle-aged man during patrol in Anambra. Photo Credit: Punch News)

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, on Thursday urged the Nigerian Army to treat the ongoing wave of killings in Plateau and other affected parts of the country as a threat to Nigeria's sovereignty rather than a routine peacekeeping duty.

Mutfwang made the call while receiving the outgoing General Officer Commanding, 3 Division, Nigerian Army, and Commander of Operation Safe Haven, Major General Folusho Oyinlola, alongside his successor, Major General Williams Dangana, at the Government House in Jos.

The governor argued that the security challenges facing Plateau, along with the North-East, North-West and North-Central regions, demand a firmer and more decisive military response.

He said Nigeria's armed forces should view their mandate not merely as peacekeeping but as defending the country's sovereignty against enemies of the state, warning that failing to see it that way would be a serious error.

He described the current security situation as an existential threat to Nigeria's sovereignty, insisting that whether in the North-East, North-West or North-Central, the country is confronting forces intent on destabilising it, a threat he said cannot be tolerated.

Mutfwang commended Oyinlola for his leadership during his 18-month tour of duty, noting that Plateau recorded both military and non-military security gains despite ongoing challenges.

He said the state had continued to attract investors and visitors despite reports of insecurity, crediting part of that progress to the military's efforts, and acknowledged that while there were difficult moments, significant successes were also achieved, adding that without Oyinlola's leadership and dedication, those seeking to destabilise Plateau might have succeeded.

The governor pledged his administration's continued support to the incoming GOC and urged him to build on his predecessor's achievements while strengthening cooperation between the military and civilian population.

In his remarks, Oyinlola said Plateau accounted for the bulk of his operational focus throughout his tenure, noting that roughly 95 percent of his 18 months in office were dedicated to addressing issues within the state, to the point where it felt as though he oversaw Plateau alone rather than the other states under his command.

He thanked the state government for its support, describing it as instrumental to the successes recorded by troops, and appealed to Governor Mutfwang and other stakeholders to extend the same level of cooperation to his successor.