Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai has charged all Directors of the State Commands of the DSS in the Northwest to tackle insecurity as an urgent priority.
The Governor spoke at the 2021 second quarter meeting of the Directors of the State Commands of the Directorate of State Security DSS in the North-west which held in Kaduna.
He lamented that the consequences of serious security deficits have devastated the rural economy, taken lives and property and also made commuting an ordeal across Federal, State and Local roads.
The Governor explained that, restoring order requires that security managers and intelligence agencies constantly share information and experiences to bring an end to the menace.
He disclosed that the criminals operate across state lines, hence, tackling them requires cooperation by the various states.
“Any plan that seeks to address the problem only in one state will at best yield a temporary respite as the criminals retreat to safe havens in places where there are no active and continuous counter-insurgency operations”, he said.
El-Rufai mentioned that, as the lead agency for domestic intelligence and counter-intelligence, the DSS has a vital role to play in providing the reliable information needed by the Police and Armed Forces for the total defeat of these dangerous insurgents.
Effect of insecurity
According to the Governor, tackling insecurity has become an urgent priority in the face of looming food crisis.
“The rains are here but farmers in various communities are unable to go to their farms; that is if they are lucky not to have fled their remote villages under pressure from the criminals.
“This cannot be allowed to continue. The security agencies need to strengthen intelligence gathering to establish their identities, plans and locations of these criminals, and to actively disrupt their capacity which they use to organise and mount attacks on our citizens.
“It is also very important to ensure that prompt and coordinated action becomes the default response of the Armed Forces and the Police to the profusion of actionable intelligence that is already available”, he said.
The Governor also commended the security personnel for holding the meetings and also developing a collective perspective rather than operating in silos.
“This is what we have tried to encourage across our military and security agencies. It is one of the major mandates of our Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs”, he added.
Nneka Ukachukwu
