Why we haven't sent in the military to attack criminal herdsmen' - Minister of Interior, Abdulraham Dambazzau

In a recent interview with Channels Television, Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazzau, spoke on why the military has not been sent in to deal with herdsmen that have carried out attacks on Nigerians in some parts of the country. According to Dambazzau, the attacks by the herdsmen is a non-military issue but rather an issue that is meant to be handled by the police.

"It is a non military issue. It is an issue that borders on law and order. It is not every security issue that you call in the military. The constitution is very clear that the responsibility of maintaining law and order is that of the police. Where it goes beyond the capacity of the police, that is when the military comes in and it is very clear that the function of the military is to defend the territorial integrity of the country. So I believe that if we put the police in its proper shape, then there will be no need for the military"he said

When told that his approach appears very soft considering the extend of damage the herdsmen have carried out in recent times, the Minister said

"I believe that our police is equal to the task. If you have to employ or deploy the military in every case, I think you may be going off board. It is when the police lacks the capacity or when it turns out in form of war or limited war, that is when you may call upon the military"he said