The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, has called for increased budgetary allocation for the purchase of military hardware to tackle the security challenges in the country.
He made the call on Saturday when he received the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, at his palace in Sokoto State.
The traditional ruler stressed the need for a coordinated approach to ensure bandits were denied freedom of movement from one state to another.
He also called for greater synergy between the governments of Nigeria and the Niger Republic in monitoring the border areas to deny the armed bandits safe havens.
The Sultan gave an assurance that the people of the state would continue to cooperate with the security agencies by providing intelligence that would enhance their operations.
He, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government to provide more aircraft and equipment to the military in order to effectively execute its constitutional roles.
Sultan Abubakar thanked the air force chief for his response to the recent attacks in Sabon Birnin Local Government Area (LGA) of Sokoto State.
He noted that the air marshal deployed air assets and additional personnel, in addition to embarking on an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
According to the traditional ruler, this will give hope to the people of Sokoto and assure them that the President is taking decisive steps to deal with the security challenges.
Earlier, Air Marshal Abubakar condemned the killing of innocent citizens by armed bandits in communities in Sabon Birnin and prayed for the peaceful repose of their souls and the speedy recovery of the injured victims.
He explained that his visit to Sokoto followed the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to the Chief of Defence Staff, that a massive offensive operation be undertaken against armed bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers and other criminal elements across states in the North West and North Central zones of the country.
The states, according to the air force chief, include Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger, Kogi, Kaduna, and Nasarawa among others.
He revealed that the air force had deployed air assets and activated operational plans, in concert with sister services, to ensure that territories within the affected areas were secured.
Abubakar, however, sought the support of the residents by promptly providing useful intelligence that would enable effective and efficient military operations to end the killings in the state.
While in Sokoto, the air marshal also met with the state governor, Aminu Tambuwal, where he assured him that the Nigerian Air Force would continue to work tirelessly to rid the state of banditry.
