Take Out Terrorists, President Tinubu Orders Security Chiefs

Army chief gives ultimatum to flush out insurgents in Kwara, Niger
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has issued fresh marching orders to security and intelligence chiefs to flush out terrorists from every part of the country.

“Enough is Enough,” the President told the military and intelligence bosses after a briefing yesterday at his residence in the State House.

Those who briefed the President are: National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu; National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Director-General, Mohammed Mohammed; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj-.Gen. Emmanuel Undianeye; and Department of State Services (DSS) Director-General Oluwatosin Ajayi.

Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, was present.

The relatively stable security situation was ruptured.

While the President was away, armed men and terrorists carried out series of attacks in some states, especially in Plateau and Benue.

No fewer than 200 people were killed, scores injured, and hundreds of residents displaced in the two states.

Ribadu told reporters that President Tinubu also directed a coordinated collaboration among security agencies, the three tiers of government, traditional rulers and community leaders in the efforts to restore peace and stability in the communities plagued by violent attacks.

Reaffirming the President’s commitment to achieving peace across the country, he added that all the security arms—military, police, intelligence services—are working hard to ensure that those troubling the country are routed.

He said: ‘’The meeting was a very detailed and exhaustive briefing session with Mr. President. He has been closely monitoring developments, even while away, and today (yesterday), we had the opportunity to fully update him.

‘’He (President) listened attentively and gave new directives. He is deeply committed to achieving peace and security across the country.

“He [President Tinubu] insisted that enough is enough. He wants to see results.’’

The NSA, who emphasised that the fight against insecurity must involve sub-national actors, assured that ‘’all the security arms are fully deployed and working round the clock ’’ to keep the country safe.

He said: ‘’We believe we’re on the right track, and though not everything is fully resolved, significant improvements have been made.

“Insecurity is not just a Federal Government issue. It involves sub-units, state and local governments, because they are closest to the people.

‘’Mr President instructed us to work more closely with governors, traditional rulers, and community leaders, especially where issues are rooted in local conflicts.”

The NSA said that the security and intelligence chiefs recently visited the troubled states on the President’s orders to assess the situation first-hand and implement appropriate interventions.

While acknowledging challenges, particularly in the Northeast where ‘’remnants of terrorist groups’’ remain active, Ribadu stressed that the nature of insecurity is evolving and that efforts must remain adaptive.

“Borno State has recently seen a spike in incidents, particularly due to IEDS(Improvised Explosive Devices) planted by insurgents. These are evil actors who strike opportunistically when things appear calm. But we have men and women who are working tirelessly, sacrificing sleep, family, and comfort to keep the country safe. Their efforts must be acknowledged”, he explained.

Ribadu urged Nigerians to consider the progress made in security over the past year, stating that while every life lost is deeply mourned, the overall trajectory remained positive.

According to him, “security is relative. You compare what was happening before and what is happening now. We are not where we want to be yet, but we are moving forward. We will not relent until we achieve lasting peace.”

COAS gives troops 30 days to rout terrorists
Also yesterday, the COAS, Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, ordered troops to flush out all insurgents from the country’s borders

He also directed troops to banish bandits terrorising the people of Baruten and Kaiama Local Government Areas of Kwara State and Borgu in Kainji Forest in Niger State.

Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia said on Tuesday that terrorist who attacked communities the his state were foreigners.

Kwande local government, of the those attacked shares border with Cameroon.

Addressing a troop at the 22 Armoured Brigade, Sobi Cantonment, Ilorin, the COAS said that the Army would not allow insurgency, especially in the Northeast, to escalate to the northcentral.

The army chief promised that “no single part of the territory would be allowed to disintegrate or be taken away by insurgents in any form, either in the form of bandits or Boko Haram or whatever name they may call it.’’

“I am giving you one month from now to recover all territory in Baruten, Kaiama and other areas in Kainji forest to the territorial integrity of Nigeria,’’ he said after inspecting a guard of honour at the Sobi cantonment.

He added: “All of you have promised to fight and recover whatever the insurgents might have taken from the country, and I believe you will keep the promise.

‘’We have to push the insurgents out of the country. I don’t want to see any one of the insurgents in our borders again.”

Promising better welfare, feeding, education facilities and uniform for members of the Armed Forces, Gen. Oluyede said: “We intervened in providing uniforms with provision of 100,000 units per month while N1 billion was being allocated to feeding soldiers every month.’’

Governors meet in Abuja
State governors were scheduled to meet in Abuja last night ahead of today’s National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.

Although no details were provided by the secretariat of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), The Nation learnt that the rising wave of killings in some parts of the country would top the agenda,

It is believed that the governors would also discuss the issue of state police.

Most states submitted their positions on state police last December.

Earlier this week, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele indicated that the upper Legislative Chamber was working on legal frameworks to accommodate the concept of state police.