The Federal Government on Thursday ignored questions seeking to get their views on the resolutions of the National Assembly calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare national emergency on security and asking the Service Chiefs to resign over alleged failure to tame rising insecurity in Nigeria.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (Rtd.), who briefed State House Correspondents on the outcome of quarterly National Security Council meeting chaired by the President, said the current challenge required collaboration between government agencies and larger society to find a comprehensive solution.
Monguno said the multiplicity of issues surrounding the current security challenges in the 21st century made it mandatory to tackle it at federal, state, and local government level in a comprehensive manner.
He said the current multi-dimensional security challenges which were both internal and external, because it came in various forms, required a situation whereby everybody was seeing to be working together.
Asked to speak on how the meeting assessed the current security situation on a scale of “stable”, “critical” or “improving”, the NSA said there could be no perfect response as the issues were unpredictable.
The meeting was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai.
Also in attendance were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; Minister of Defense, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (Rtd.); Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar; and the Director-General of the Directorate of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi.
On Tuesday, President Buhari expressed surprise over the surge in insecurities across the country while hosting eminent citizens of Niger State at State House, Abuja.