THE avalanche of criticism directed at government after terror attacks at multiple locations in Nigeria on Christmas day appears to have spurred the presidency into visible action to serve the impression that it is up to the task of guaranteeing the safety of life and property in the country.
On Thursday, President Goodluck Jonathan chaired a meeting with heads of security agencies and military service chiefs to conduct a review of the security situation in the country and effect necessary changes to improve safety at a time when subversive forces appear more daring in their actions.
The meeting came barely 24 hours after the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) declared that the Christian Community was fast losing confidence in the federal government’s ability to protect Christians’ rights to religious liberties and life
Present at the meeting were the Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim; Director-General of State Security Service (SSS), Mr Ita Ekpeyong; National Security Adviser (NSA), General Patrick Azazi; Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Azubike Ihejirika; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ola Saad Ibrahim and Chief of Air Staff, Muhammed Umar.
Police Inspector-General Ringim spoke with journalists after the meeting, saying that President Jonathan summoned the security chiefs over his concerns on the security challenges in the country.
IG Ringim remarked that “Terrorism is not an easy matter at all. Terrorism is everywhere all over the world, particularly here in this country. As you are aware, it is a very new phenomenom here. We have not had this kind of thing before and we are just having it now. So, we are all scrambling to find our feet and face it squarely. That is what we are doing.
“Security agencies and, most importantly, the Nigeria police have made a lot of gains, which have not come to the fore. I want to use this opportunity and talk to everyone of us to remain resolved and resolute to join in the fight against this canker that will not leave anyone of us, if we do not get our acts together.
“What I mean by getting our acts together [include the] Nigeria Police, security agencies and you journalists and all members of the public. This is something that should galvanize us in our quest to remain together and also to bring down the scourge.”
While calling for the cooperation of members of the public, the police boss said that the efforts of security agencies had yielded fruits, as hundreds of terrorism suspects had been nabbed and were in various detention centres awaiting prosecution.
“The arrest of these terrorists has been going on for a long time. Many of them have been arrested and many of them are in detention. They are in the process of being prosecuted. The issue is not the number of arrests, the issue is the cooperation that all the security agencies need from each and everyone of us in order to get to the bottom of this matter,” he said.
Ringim revealed that those arrested were small fries, while attempts were being intensified to get to their sponsors.
“So far, we have arrested hundreds of them but that is not the issue. These people, to my mind, are just the foot soldiers and we need to get strong evidence through the cooperation of members of the public so that we will be able to get to the leaders, masters and organisers of these people,” he said.
The nation’s number one cop also spoke of efforts to prevent terrorist attacks, especially during the New Year Day celebrations, assuring that security agencies would do the utmost to make the period violence- free.
“I assure you we are doing our possible best. We are prepared more than ever before and I want to assure you this that if we had not done what we did in Yobe, if we had not done what we did in Kaduna, indeed if the Nigeria Police Force had not done what we did in Kano, the recovery of the primed up suicide bombing vehicles, the story would have been a different one. I assure you members of the public that the Nigeria Police Force and, indeed, all other security agencies, are now ready more than ever to face these challenges,” he stated.
On the possible retaliation by Christians if they continued to be targeted, Ringim acknowledged that they were agitated, but pointed out that the terrorists had not discriminated against members of different faiths in their attacks.
Also speaking to journalists shortly after the meeting was the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshall Oluseyi Petirin, who disclosed that the President has taken decisive actions to restructure the security apparatus in the country.
He added that while the enormity of the challenges dominated the agenda of yesterday’s meeting, with the new strategy being put in place by the president, “a lot of things,” he insisted, “will change in the days ahead.”
Meanwhile, President Jonathan will January next year hold a stakeholders meeting in the Presidential Villa to address the menace of Boko Haram whose actions have exposed the porous nature of the nation’s security system.
The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria reportedly rattled the President with a threat of reprisals if the sect attacks any church nationwide during the New Year Eve or New Year Day services. President Jonathan was said to have appealed to the Ayo Oritsejafor-led CAN and informed the Christians leaders of his plan to meet all religious and traditional rulers possibly in January as a way of finding lasting solutions to the menace.
In the meantime, all military and police buildings as well as other public instructions in Abuja are being kept under the eagle eye of security operatives. Roads passing near some of them have been cordoned off in an attempt to prevent any further embarrassment from the Boko Haram sect which has threatened to strike again this weekend.