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The senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has called on President Bola Tinubu to regularly brief Nigerians on efforts being made to tackle insurgency and banditry across the country.
Ndume made the call in a statement released on Sunday, amid outrage over the recent killing of residents of Ngoshe in Borno State and the reported abduction of over 100 women and children by insurgents.
Last Wednesday, terrorists from Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province carried out coordinated attacks on the Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
During the attack, the insurgents were said to have killed some soldiers, the chief imam of the town and several community elders after first assaulting a military base belonging to the 82 Division Task Force Battalion.
The attackers later stormed the community and an Internally Displaced Persons camp.
The development has sparked fresh concerns about security in the North-East despite the Federal Government’s recent moves to strengthen military operations.
PUNCH Online had reported that Tinubu, last November, declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered additional recruitment into the Armed Forces.
Reacting to the incident, Ndume, a former Senate Leader and a native of the affected community, urged the President to match his declaration with sustained military operations against insurgents’ strongholds.
He said, “Government should walk its talk on the emergency by engaging in coordinated and sustained attacks on insurgents’ targets, especially in the North-East. They should carry out consistent clearance operations in Lake Chad, Sambisa Forest and the Mandara Mountains because the recent attacks were well coordinated by the insurgents.
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“For example, the Ngoshe massacre was carried out by insurgents from the Mandara Mountains, assisted by others from Sambisa and the Lake Chad region, using their known routes.”
Ndume also urged the President to establish a situation room at the Presidential Villa to monitor security developments and communicate directly with Nigerians.
“Since the President declared a state of emergency, he should have a situation room in his office in the Villa. He should use that to brief Nigerians directly. They want to hear from him from time to time,” he said.
The lawmaker further proposed the establishment of Air Component Centres across the three geopolitical zones in the North to strengthen aerial operations against insurgents.
“Nigeria also deserves Air Component Centres in the three geopolitical zones in the North, with attack helicopters deployed to the areas,” he added.
Ndume, however, commended the Nigerian Army for responding to the Ngoshe attack, though he noted that the intervention came late.
The former Senate Chief Whip also reiterated his call for the frontloading of security agencies’ budgets to enable faster procurement of arms and ammunition needed to combat insurgents.
“The Nigerian Army’s budget is insignificant compared to the overall national budget; it is less than 10 per cent and should be frontloaded.
“The President should ensure that the budgets of Nigeria’s security agencies are frontloaded. Even if we cannot purchase attack helicopters immediately, we should consider hiring them to deploy to black-spot areas,” he said
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