Commander Reviews STF Mandate In Jos Crises

Major General Oluwaseun Oshinowo, the new Commander, Military Special Task Force (STF) in Plateau, says its mandate is being reviewed to meet the security challenges on ground.

Oshinowo told journalists on Tuesday in Jos, that current arrangements before he left Abuja were being tinkered with in view of the reality he met on ground.

“The mandate now has changed from what we used to have on ground. We are on a bigger mandate and what I see on the ground is different from the briefs I had from Abuja.

“So any pre-conceived plan I might have had has been altered; I have to review what is on ground to see how my plans will fit in,” Oshinowo said.

The commander said that the new force consisted of not only the military, but was now inclusive of the police and other security agencies, while everybody’s cooperation was required.

Oshinowo called on journalists to cooperate with him, pointing out that they were the ones capable of feeding the public with what was happening in Plateau.

“You (journalists) are the ones that people believe. When they read your papers, they believe everything that is written there.

“Whatever that has been happening before, we should try as much as possible to make sure that we put a stop to it through professional reportage and volunteering information.

“The anonymous sources you have been protecting, I will also protect the sources if you give me timely information that will make us bring peace back to Plateau,” he said.

The commander pledged to be open to the journalists so as to make way for a cross fertilisation of ideas, while striving to avoid misinformation.

“The STF under me will not be a cult; everything we do will be open for all Nigerians to know and assess us,” he said.

According to him, Nigerians are eager to know what is happening in the peace operation in Plateau and journalists saddled with the responsibility to feed the public with the information required to do the right thing.

The STF head said that he would be issuing weekly press releases and holding a monthly briefing to give account of his stewardship and the way forward for the next month.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oshinowo, who took over the Command of STF on Saturday, was until his appointment, the Director of Transformation at the Defence Headquarters.