Insurgency: Buhari pledges more decisive measures

.Seeks cooperation from community leaders

President Muhammadu Buhari says more proactive and decisive measures are to be taken by the Federal Government to put to an end to the Boko Haram menace in the country once and for all.

Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, said the President gave the assurance in Maiduguri where he paid a sympathy visit to victims of Monday’s attacks in Auno by insurgents.

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President Buhari, however, maintained that intelligence sharing and synergy between law enforcement agencies and the civil populace are critical towards achieving the objectives.

“I assure you that improvement in security will be pursued vigorously. The military will work harder and strategise with tactics to deal with the insurgents.

“This is however not possible without good intelligence and cooperation with local community leaders.

“Boko Haram cannot come up to Maiduguri or environs without the local leadership knowing because traditionally, the local leadership is in charge of security in their own respective areas.

“I want to call on the leadership at various levels to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and let us deny Boko Haram access to our loyal citizens.

“We will do our best and I hope history will be kind to us; to recall what was on the ground when we came and what will be on the ground when we leave,” he said.

President Buhari, who was at the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Gabai, accompanied by the state Governor, Babagana Zulum, sympathised with the monarch and other victims of the attack, and prayed for the repose of the soul of the victims.

In his remarks, Gov. Zulum thanked the President for identifying with the state in this trying times.

He praised the efforts of the military so far, wondering why some people would be comparing the security situation now with what obtained before the Buhari administration came on board.

He said: “Roads were closed, there were sporadic bombings everywhere even within the metropolis. Close to 20 local government areas were under Boko Haram.

“We are surprised that there seems to be resurgence in 2019.”

He challenged the military to borrow from their successes especially between 2015 and 2017, take the battle to the insurgents and push them to the fringes of Lake Chad.

The governor also urged the security agencies to be patient with the civilian populace and give opportunities to the Internally Displaced Persons to access their communities in order to return to their occupations.

President Buhari, who landed in Maiduguri from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he attended the 33th summit of the African Union, has since returned to Abuja.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has condoled the government and people of Borno State over Sunday’s “needless attack” by suspected insurgents on travellers in Auno, a community near Maiduguri.

Chairman of NGF, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, expressed the forum’s sympathy in a letter dated Feb. 11 and addressed to the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum.

Fayemi  said  a situation  where a large number of vehicles loaded with goods as well as  shops and houses could be set ablaze by suspected marauding insurgents, who sneaked into the town and launched attacks on sleeping travellers at the town, barely 24km from a state capital, spoke volume.

“It says a lot about the vulnerability of local people who for all intents and purposes should enjoy full protection from the people they put in power.

“However, your efforts, Mr. Governor‚ in calling for greater responsibility on the part of the security operatives in your state is both commendable and courageous, and indeed has the support of all your other colleagues.

“Once again, I wish to whoIe-heartedly join the government and people of Borno state in this grief along with all of our colleagues.

“And hope that the people are protected adequately and that no further onslaughts ever occur again, not just in Borno state but in the country as a whole,” Fayemi said.