President Muhammadu Buhari (left) and the Chief of Army Staff, Burutai
At long last after his government has continued to downplay the worsening security situation in the country, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has finally accepted that the security situation is very bad in Nigeria. He has openly described the security situation in the country as “very disturbing.”
It is on record that Nigeria under the watch of Buhari and his ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) party, Nigeria is recording more deaths occasioned by the senseless killings by Boko Haram, Fulani Herdsmen and bandits than countries that are fighting full-scale war. As a result, there have been calls from all quarters for Buhari to sack the security chiefs to no avail. But with the situation getting out of hands, Buhari is calling the military and the police to do much better. He however claimed that his administration had done its best in view of what he inherited in 2015.
He said more resources would be provided for the military, police and other security agencies to “deal with the unwanted security situation in some areas of the country.” Buhari made the remarks in an interview with State House Correspondents after observing Eid prayers with his family and aides at the State House, Abuja.
The President’s declaration is coming a few weeks after he threatened heads of security agencies, including service chiefs, that their best was not enough, and two days after an attack on the convoy of Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, who was on his way to an IDP camp outside Maiduguri. The President said much had been achieved on security and that given the situation he inherited in 2015, Nigerians ought to understand that his administration had done its best.
He claimed, “Nigerians know that we have done our best. However, what is coming out of the North West and the North Central is very disturbing.” In a press statement on the discussions, the President’s spokesman, Garba Shehu quoted Buhari as saying that all the security agencies, including the military, and the police were working hard to tackle insecurity.
He claimed, “We are making available resources to them to even do better. From the reports I am getting, they could do much better…they could do much better. But we are keeping them on the alert all the time to do their duties, said the President.
Buhari also spoke on corruption, saying an anti-graft agency was set up to fight corruption, as those put in position of authority by both the past and present administrations had abused trust. He, however, insisted that all corruption cases would be uncovered and thoroughly investigated. “This is why we put the commission (of investigation) in place. There has been abuse of trust by people trusted by the previous administration and this administration,” he said.
Meanwhile, Boko Haram insurgents have continued attacks in the North-east, while bandits have persisted in ravaging the North-west and the North-central. On Thursday, multiple explosions from mortars fired by suspected Boko Haram members hit Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, leaving many injured.
The Borno State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Aliyu said yesterday that the death toll from the attack had risen to six, and that 27 people were injured. Aliyu said the dead included a female at Gwange II and five others who were hit by the explosives at separate locations within the city.
He said following the incidents, the command in collaboration with other security agencies had deployed a total of 7,000 personnel to secure the entire city for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration in order to prevent breach of peace. The Commissioner said the personnel, comprising the Police Mobile Force (PMF), Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), and Special Protection Unit (SPU), were deployed in 31 designated mosques for the EId-EL-Kabir congregations.
