FG flags off initiative to end Boko Haram, banditry

The Federal Government of Nigeria has flagged-off a stakeholders’ engagement on internal security and conflict resolution as part of efforts to bring an end to security challenges across the country.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, flagged off the meeting in Maiduguri, Borno State capital on Tuesday, according to a statement by the ministry’s Director (Press & Public Relations), Mohammed Manga.

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While calling on Nigerians to support the President Muhammadu Buhari led-administration in its efforts at exterminating insurgency that is making living of ordinary Nigerians difficult and miserable, he said the government was ready to tap into the knowledge of the people in achieving this.

In his speech titled: “The People as the Cornerstone of Security”, Aregbesola said that the summit was called to tap from the wealth of experience of the Kanem Borno Empire which stood secured for 1,200 years, more than the Byzantine Empire or the Roman Empire.

The Minister said that government had renewed its stand to do whatever is necessary to stamp out insecurity from all parts of the country, expressing optimism that the aim was achievable.

“Some nations have faced them [security agencies] before and have come out victorious.

“We are going to do the same and nothing is going to stop us.

“But to be able to win, we need the support of the people.

“We must understand that the defence and security architectural complex is a pyramid.

“Sitting on the top is the military, followed by the police, next are the other security agencies and at the base, carrying and supporting the complex, are the people who are the security-agency-at-large,” he said.

Aregbesola said further that in every secured nation, especially the developed ones, security is contingent on the information supplied by the citizens, their cooperation with the security agencies and acting in the best interest of their community, society and the nation.

The Minister, who commended the security agencies for their doggedness in the fight against crime and criminality in the country, called on them to see the people as important to achieving successes.

“Any security agency operating within a national space that disregards the support of the people is simply doomed in its mission of defence and security.

“The insurgents and other criminals, who are disturbing us, are not ghosts but humans, nevertheless they are a tiny minority.

“They can never withstand a united and determined people who take their security seriously,” he reiterated.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, the Executive Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Zulum, assured that the government and people of Borno State would continue to support the efforts of the federal government in its determination to ensuring the restoration of peace and security in the state.

He thanked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration for liberating a substantial part of the State and the Northeast from the grip of the insurgents, adding that some time ago, 23 of the 27 local government areas of the State were under the firm control of the insurgents but for the concerted efforts of the Federal Government in calling for the military’s intervention, the situation had been reversed.

In his remarks, His Eminence, the Shehu of Borno, Alh. Abubakar Ibin Umar Garba, pledged the support of the traditional rulers to the Federal Government in its efforts towards finding lasting peace and security in all parts of the country.

The stakeholders’ engagement was also attended by the Ministers of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi; Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi; Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed; Chairman Senate Committee on Interior and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, IGP, Mohammed Adamu, Controller-General, Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Ahmed Ja’faru; Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mohammad Babandede; Controller-General, Federal Fire Service (FFS) Dr. Liman Ibrahim; Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), Muhammadu Gana Abdullahi; traditional rulers as well as other relevant stakeholders on matters of internal security.