Insurgents, criminals’ activities under check — COAS

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, says the activities of bandits and other criminals across the country are under check.

Yahaya stated this when he answered questions from State House correspondents shortly after he was decorated with the rank of Lieutenant-General by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said the army would continue to do its best in ensuring that security challenges were appropriately addressed.

He said: “That’s what we have started doing already and many of them have been sent to God to go and answer for their crimes”.

Yahaya appreciated the president for the confidence reposed in him, pledging his unalloyed loyalty on behalf of the officers and men of the Nigerian Army.

He affirmed that successes were already being recorded.

“I want to first most sincerely appreciate the president and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces for the confidence reposed in me and now being decorated Lieutenant-General and Chief of Army Staff,” he said.

It was reported that Yahaya’s decoration as Lieutenant-General and Chief of Army Staff was witnessed by members of the Federal Executive Council, security chiefs, including Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor and Chief of the Air, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao.

Others were the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Maj.-Gen. Sunday Adebayo, the Director General, Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi and the Inspector General of Police (IG), Usman Baba.