The Nigerian government has declared that it will deploy all necessary force to eliminate insurgents and other criminal elements causing trouble in some parts of the country.
The National Security Adviser NSA, retired Major General Babagana Monguno said this on Thursday at the third edition of the State House media briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team.
Monguno said wherever such groups of people are found, they will be dealt with, adding that government would not succumb to blackmail and the use of criminals by proxies to harass innocent citizens.
He said: “While government is not averse to talking with these entities, it also has to fully apply its weight. You can’t negotiate with people who are unreliable and who will continue to hurt society. We will apply the full weight of the government to deal with these criminals.
These are not people looking for anything that is genuine or legitimate; they’re just out to take calculated measures to inflict pain and violence on innocent people. We must deal with them the way they need to be dealt with. We will fully assert the government’s will.
We are also focusing on associated dimensions of the banditry and terrorism: illegal drugs, the flow of small arms and light weapons and illegal mining in places like Zamfara. These are some of the scenarios fuelling the violence and we are already tackling them decisively.”
No Mercenaries
The NSA further said government will not engage mercenaries in its fight against insurgents and other forms of insecurity in the country.
Responding to a question on renewed calls by the North-East Governors and the House of Representatives on the federal government to engage foreign mercenaries in routing boko haram terrorists in Sambisa forest and other insurgents’ enclaves, Monguno said:
“The President’s view and directive is that we will not engage mercenaries when we have our own people to deal with these problems. We have the personnel and resources and the President has given a new lease of life to the Armed Forces.”
He also ruled out plans of negotiating with insurgents and bandits, insisting that doing so will suggest weakness and incapacity on the part of government.
The NSA also disclosed that between March and December 2020, the military successfully took out 2,403 insurgents in the North East.
Amnesty for insurgents
On why the government was silent on Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, an Islamic cleric who has been calling on government to grant insurgents amnesty, Monguno disclosed that he has met and interacted with him briefly in Kaduna at the zonal town hall meeting with Service Chiefs but that he was still waiting for the cleric to come forth.
He also said the recent changes made by President Buhari to the security architecture of the country are a good development that would enhance the security of the nation.
“The appointment of the new Service Chiefs gives us a ray of hope that things will be adjusted so that whatever we do as regards securing Nigeria will be in conformity with the aspirations of the people” , he said.
External support
On the level of external support Nigeria is enjoying in the fight against insurgency, the NSA said: “There’s a Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit, comprising US, UK, France working with us and our neighbours. They’ve been supporting us with intelligence. For us what’s most important is acting on the intelligence; that’s why we’re investing in equipment and assets.”
Monguno however lamented that there is lack of enough personnel in the Nigerian Armed Forces but steps are already being taken to address the shortfall, adding that the Forces would be well equipped with more hardware in order to succeed in tackling the asymmetric warfare.
Nneka Ukachukwu
