The internal military task force in Plateau State, Operation Safe Haven, OPSH, has relocated its operational command base to Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.
The development came as another attack carried by suspected Fulani herdsmen at Mararaban Kantoma, in Barkin Ladi Local Government in the early hours of Sunday, claimed four lives just as four of them were captured by military troops drafted to the area following a distress call from resident.
The Commander of Operation Safe Haven, Major General Anthony Atolagbe, who announced the relocation of the task force headquarters to Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, in a press statement, in Jos today, said the development was aimed at immediately ending attacks and return normalcy in the council area.
In the statement, signed by Major Umar Adam, the Media and Information Officer of OPSH, Major General Atolagbe while regretting the latest attack in the area, appealed to residents of the area to continue to have faith in the task force as it was fully on ground to protect them.
“The Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) notes with dismay the continued attitudes of some criminals in Plateau State to make the state ungovernable through some unwarranted attacks on some communities and innocent villagers despite the tireless efforts of the Operation.
“We regret to say that at about 0300 hour this morning, Sunday 1st July, 2018, our men at Dorowa received a distress call from a resident of Mararaban Kantoma in Barkin Ladi Local Government that they were under attack by some armed bandits.
“On receiving the distress call, our men mobilized to the scene immediately and repealed the attackers. The assailants, who were given a hot chase by our men escaped with various degree of injuries while four of them were arrested.
“However,it is regrettable that before our men could get to the scene of the attack, four persons had already been killed by the attackers. This is a setback to us given the relentless efforts of the Operation to restore absolute peace not only in the local government area in particular but also the state in general.
“Consequently, in his avowed commitment to ensuring that the renewed attacks are promptly brought to an end, the Commander of Operation Safe Haven, Major General Anthony Atolagbe, has relocated the Headquarters of the Operation to Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.
“The Commander has also relocated with all the principal officers of the Operation to the epicenter of the renewed attacks. To this end, Commander would be coordinating the day to day activities of the Operation from the new operational headquadters.
” We wish to call on citizens of the state, especially the residents of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area to continue to have faith in the Operation. We are fully on ground to continue to discharge our duties of protecting everybody in the state and we remain resolute to achieving our mandate in the state.
“We therefore use this opportunity to warn any criminals making or planing to make life miserable for innocent citizens to desist from the act and leave Plateau State as henceforth, we are committed to invoking the full wrath of the law on the bandits and their sponsors.
” The Operation Safe Haven wishes to once again, call on well-meaning residents of Plateau State to continue to cooperate with us and promptly report to our men suspicious activities and movements of people around their environments. “
