Buhari warns protesters, assures youths of support

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday disclosed at the quarterly meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) that there won’t be a repeat of the #EndSARS protests in the country which resulted in the loss of lives and destruction of properties.

Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi, told correspondents after the meeting that the President also promised to ensure adequate security of lives and property.

Dingyadi said: “Mr. President assured Nigerians that he will do whatever it takes to ensure the repeat of #EndSARS protests does not occur in Nigeria again.

“Mr. President reassured that all stakeholders will be involved in the process of maintaining peace in the country, particularly the youth, community leaders, traditional rulers, politicians, public servants and religious leaders.

“The Federal Government will continue to maintain its bureaucratic, humane and just postures in handling security matters in the country,” he stated. The minister explained that it does not mean that the president would move against protesters when next there is a protest.

He said: “on the issue of #EndSARS that you have raised, what we are saying is that government will continue to dialogue, it will continue to listen and will continue to carry all stakeholders along in ensuring that there is no repeat of what happened that destroyed a lot of properties, public and private, individuals in this country.”

According to him, the meeting noted with concern the increasing cases of armed banditry particularly in the north west and north eastern part of the country.

He stressed that meeting agreed to be more proactive in dealing with the situation in a more decisive manner.

According to him, the government dealing with security in a decisive manner would mean an all-inclusive action that would be taken to ensure that in terms of technology and equipment, security agents can face the present challenges.

He further said, “the meeting noted the need to pay greater attention to the police in the discharge of its functions to maintain peace in the country, in the areas of equipment and modern technology.

“The meeting thanked the president for the concern which he has shown in repositioning the police to perform more effectively.

“In his concluding remarks, Mr. President thanked members for the efforts they are making in maintains peace and assured members that he will do whatever it takes to support security agencies in providing peace in the country.

On when Nigerians should expect improved security, Dingyadi said, “let me say that in whatever one does you must have a timeline, you must have your targets and you must work towards achieving those targets.

We have our timelines, we have our targets and we are working towards achieving those targets. Speaking specifically on the concern that bandits and other criminals may become powerful that they would pose great security challenge, the Police Affairs minister said bandits have already been degraded, stressing that there was no way they would resuscitate and take over.

He said, “you see, these bandits have already being degraded, so there is no way they resuscitate themselves and take over.

I think they have already been degraded, what they are doing is just hit and run kind of tactics.

“So, we don’t see any sign of them coming to takeover or overpower, I think they have been well degraded and they are just trying to show their presence in a very cowardice manner.

On the concerns that police have abandoned Abuja-Kaduna and plans by government to ensure peace returns to the route, he said police have not abandoned the route, stressing that the road was being monitored 24 hours by a joint patrol of police and the army.

“You see, once a small thing happens in a particular place like this Kaduna, we begin to talk about lack of security in that area.

That place is being monitored 24 hours. There are police and the army that are on a kind of joint patrol on 24 hours basis.

We also have our own separate police formation that is also on that road. “I think it is an over statement to say that that place is not being secured.

People are still following it, we agree that there have been cases of attacks but these are normal things these people do whenever they have opportunity and we are equal to the task.

“Whenever this kind of thing happens, we pursue them like what happened just two days ago, those people were rescued. So police and security personnel will continue to monitor this road and all other places to ensure that peace is to a very large extent maintained in the area”, he said.

Speaking on whether the police are really back on the streets to ready to tackle the security challenge in the county, the minister said the police are very much at their duty posts unlike what people are saying.

“We receive daily situation reports from across the states and that is a good indicator that the police are very much at their duty posts, they are also on the road and they are working 24 hours.

“But, I will agree with you when you say that police are not everywhere.

We cannot be everywhere because of our number, equipment but we are doing all we can to ensure that we cover as much as we can and to protect as many lives as we can to ensure that there is peace in this country”,, he added Responding to concerns that money paid as ransom to kidnappers are being used to fund Boko Haram, he said people are always encouraged to report cases of kidnapping to the police instead of paying ransom.

“We always encourage people to report these cases to the police because, the moment you take it upon yourself and continue to pay ransom this will continue to occur.

But if you report to the police, they will continue to pursue these people and in most cases we succeed in freeing these victims”, he said.

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Among those present at the security meeting were Chief of Defense Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar; InspectorGeneral of Police, Mohammed Adamu; Also in attendance were National Security Adviser (NSA) Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd ); DirectorGeneral of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rafa’i Abubakar; and the Director-General of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) Yusuf Magaji Bichi.

Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Salihi Mahashi (rtd.); Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama were also present at the meeting.