“Forces have not been deployed against bandits for fear of Innocent lives” – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that his government has not been able to dispatch heavy military force against bandits across the country due to consideration for the lives of innocent citizens.

He said the fear of heavy casualties of innocent villagers and hostages who might be used as human shields by the bandits has made them halt the need to use heavy military force.

Buhari said this in reaction to the abduction of over 300 Government Secondary Schoolgirls from Jangebe, Zamfara State on Friday.

This message was conveyed in a statement signed on Friday and made available to newsmen by Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu.

The president described the latest abduction of hundreds of schoolchildren as inhumane and totally unacceptable, warning that no criminal group can be too strong for the government to defeat.

Buhari lamented that the rule of engagement is the only thing standing between the country’s security forces and the criminals hiding in different forests across the North.