President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security agencies in the country to deal decisively with anybody perpetrating violence or causing mayhem in any part of Nigeria.
National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno revealed this while briefing State House Correspondents at the end of Tuesday’s National security meeting, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the President would not relent in is duty of ensuring every Nigerian is protected.
“What I am saying has to do with the orders given by the President, Commander in Chief to the Chief of Defence Staff, including the Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police. I do not think I will want to go into details of the new measures.
“We have decided not to go along the path that we followed in the past whereby certain operational and tactical decisions were made public; of course, we are in a situation whereby, we are fighting enemies that are not really known.
“The important thing is that the President has given us marching orders to deal physically with the emerging problems and of course, dealing with it forms the realists’ paradigm. President Buhari‘s approach to dealing with this problem basically is that he recognises that his primary responsibility is ensuring national survival in a hostile environment. Whether that hostility is domestic or external, it has to be suppressed. Therefore, he has given a clear line of action to the operational elements under the leadership of the Chief of defence Staff”, Monguno explained.
Sustaining peace in the country
The NSA noted that dealing with the current security challenges remains a priority, in order to return and sustain peace in all troubled parts of the country.
According to him, “The most important thing is that we have to subjugate all other requirements in order to deal with the present crisis of insecurity in the country. All other national objectives and obligations have to be subordinated to the primary concern of bringing back security and normalcy to the Federal republic of Nigeria and allowing the entire citizenry to undertake their legitimate obligations without any fear of being intimidated or coerced by non-state actors.”
Corroborating the NSA’s remarks, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor pledged more commitment and professionalism from the Armed Forces as they tackle the problem, adding that peace will surely return to the troubled areas of the country.
Importation of weapons
Monguno said the recent establishment of an agency on the control of small arms and light weapons, domiciled in the office of the National Security Adviser, would go a long way in dealing with the issue of importation of such weapons as well as address the problem of insecurity.
He said: “Nigerians should expect commitment, professionalism and loyalty to constitutional order. Nigerians should expect that the military along with other security agencies will continue to discharge their responsibilities and ensure that safety and security returns to every part of this country.
“No doubt, there will be peace in our land and we are working towards that. I believe that if you look at our engagements in the North-East, North-West, North-Central, South-East, South-South and even the South-West, you will see that quite a lot has happened in the last few months.”
General Irabor acknowledged that the military has not gotten to the level where Nigerians would be completely happy thus, they would sustain their effort.
Manpower and equipment
The Chief of defence Staff also announced that the meeting resolved to meet the manpower and equipment needs of the military.
“No doubt, far reaching decisions were made and on our part, I briefed on various measures that we have been taking to stem the tide of insecurity in the country. We made prayers, which the Security Council has graciously undertaken to look into. They include manpower development, training and equipment issues and I believe that going forward, it will have a great impact on the security disposition across the country,” he said.
Also speaking, Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, assured Nigerians that the current security challenges would be surmounted.
“The Security Council meeting has assessed the security situation in the country particularly South-East and South-South as it affects law and order and we have measures that have been approved and we will see how we can change the narrative within the quickest possible means to restore peace in those areas” , he said.
Baba solicited support from all law-abiding citizens “to identify and deal with the situation.”
Tuesday’s meeting was the third summoned by President Buhari in 11 days.
Nneka Ukachukwu
