ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)— President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the deteriorating security situation in the country.
He therefore issued a stern warning to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and other security chiefs, declaring that “enough is enough.”
According to Vanguard, the NSA maintained that the security situation in Nigeria has improved, despite the President’s strong words, attributing most recent casualties to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by terrorists.
Addressing journalists after a closed-door security meeting held at the President’s residence in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Ribadu said security heads had been directed to immediately restore peace and stability across the country.
“Mr. President gave us the chance to come and brief him, and it lasted very long.
“We gave him an update of what has been the case and what is going on. Even when he was out there, before coming back, he was constantly in touch”, Ribadu said.
“He was giving directives, he was following developments, and we in charge of the security got the opportunity today (yesterday) to come and brief him properly for hours. And it was very detailed. It was exhaustive. It was complete A to Z what has been the case and what’s happening today.”
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Ribadu emphasized that President Tinubu issued fresh instructions and is working tirelessly to secure the country.
“The fact is, Mr. President is insisting and working so hard to ensure that we have peace, security and stability in our country”, he said.
He stated further that the security agencies had been proactive, visiting states facing major insecurity challenges including Plateau, Benue, and Borno, as directed by the President.
“We gave him what is going on, and we also assured him that work is ongoing and continues.
“We also carried out his instructions. We went round the chiefs were all out where we had these incidents of insecurity in Plateau State, Benue State, even Borno. These particular three states, and we gave him a feedback, because he directed us to go meet with the political authorities there”, Ribadu said.
According to the NSA, resolving insecurity is a shared responsibility that involves not just the federal government but also state and local authorities.
“The issue of insecurity often is not just for the government. It involves the sub units. They are the ones who are directly with the people, especially if some of the challenges are more or less bordering on community problems.
“Not entirely everything is that, but of course it also plays a significant role. You need to work with the communities. You need to work with the local governments. We need to work with the governors, especially the governors”, he added.
Continuing, Ribadu said: “The President continues to direct that we should be doing that, and that’s what we are able to do and we are very happy, very satisfied with the instructions and the directives given by Mr. President this evening.
“He’s so worried and concerned, he insisted that enough is enough, and we are working to ensure that we restore peace and security and all of us are there.”
He added that all security agencies, including the armed forces, civil police, and intelligence units, are working round the clock.
“They are working there 24 hours, and we feel that we have done enough to believe that we are on the right course, and we’ll be able to be on top of things.”
While acknowledging that the situation is not perfect, Ribadu stressed that improvements have been made and that more progress is expected.
He continued, “It’s not really 100 per cent that everything is safe and secure, but we are going there.
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“We will work. It is his own instructions. Things have changed in this country. We’ve continued to talk about it. Security is about relativity. What was it and what is it today? You compare how things were in the past.
“We do not underestimate even one life lost. We don’t take it lightly at all. But certainly, lots of things have changed and improved, and it will continue to.”
He reiterated that the fight against terrorism is far from over, especially with the enemy resorting to cowardly tactics such as planting IEDs.
“The same thing with Borno. Borno State, we know things escalated in the last few months or so, but these people you are fighting — evil people will not just sit down and accept defeat. They will show their own,” Ribadu said.
“Most of the deaths and casualties we recorded are a result of IEDs, improvised explosive devices that they planted for innocent people to come, and just anything on top of it, it explodes and then often you have large number of casualties.”
He described some recent attacks as opportunistic, carried out after periods of relative calm.
“We have also seen opportunistic attacks. After a period of relative peace, they will come cowardly, go around and do a bad thing. And for your information, when you are having peace and you are beginning to get used to it, if one bad incident happens, you forget the periods that you enjoyed peacefully. That is what is going on”, he added.
However, he praised the commitment and sacrifices of security personnel.
“There are people who don’t sleep, who walk throughout, who do not go for any break or holiday, who are making sacrifices just for us to achieve this semblance of peace that we are enjoying, and they will continue to be there. I think it is also appropriate that people should take note of that there are many who are doing this work.”