Buhari vows to be harder on criminals; NSA downplays dialogue, insists no mercs

President Muhammadu Buhari says security chiefs have received marching orders to go harder on criminals, including shooting anyone found to be in illegal possession of AK-47.

He told traditional rulers government’s position even as his National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno, was flatly telling journalists, that mercenaries will not be brought in to deal with insurgency and other forms of criminalities, despite calls by prominent Nigerians including Borno Governor, Babagana Zulum, and lately, members of the House of Representatives.

Monguno also told journalists that dialoguing with insurgents makes the government look weak.

Presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president briefed the traditional rulers on efforts by the government to improve the security situation in the country, adding that his administration had recorded appreciable successes in the North-East and South-South parts of the country.

‘‘But what surprises me is what is happening now in the North West where the same people, with the same culture, are killing each other, taking their livestock and burning properties.

‘‘As a result of that, we had a four-hour meeting of the National Security Council attended by the Ministers of Internal Affairs, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Service Chiefs, Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police and others and we gave clear instructions.

‘‘One thing that got to the press, which I read myself, was that anyone with an AK-47 will be shot.

‘‘This is because AK-47 is supposed to be registered and it is only given to security officials.

‘‘We closed the borders for some years, but the intelligence report I’m getting on a daily basis is that those who are conducting the abductions, the killings and so on  are still not short of arms and ammunition,’’ he said.

The President expressed dismay over attacks on police stations and killings of security personnel by criminals, warning that ”no investor will invest in a country that is unsafe”.

Buhari also stressed the need for traditional rulers to use their roles and positions as bridge builders in each of their communities to complement government efforts at ensuring peace and security.

He appealed to the traditional leaders to deploy their reach and influence in the best interest of assisting the government to ”root out those whose sole objective remains to cause trouble and destroy livelihoods and families across the nation”.

The president, who listened to various interventions from representatives of the traditional rulers from each of the six- geo-political zones in the country, pledged that his administration would continue to support and work collaboratively with them to ensure peace and stability.

He restated his marching orders to the newly appointed Service Chiefs to bring the security situation under control.

He noted that closer control could only be achieved with the cooperation and collaboration of traditional rulers and authorities, who occupy a critical role in the society.

‘‘By your role and positions with history dating back hundred years, the people trust you implicitly and in return you provide them with comfort and guidance in accordance with our cultural heritage and traditions.

‘‘You are the bridge builders in each of your communities.

”No one is better placed with your strength of moral authority to ensure that people who visit your communities for either business, leisure or any honest and credible reason are protected and made to feel at home,’’ he said.

In separate remarks, the royal fathers stressed the need for the traditional institution to be assigned definite roles, particularly on peace and security, within the ambit of the Constitution as well as regular engagement with the National Assembly on multiple fronts.

On his part Monguno told journalists, “The government is tackling the problem of insecurity, we’ve said this many times that there are two phases in solving this problem –the soft approach: talking, negotiating, and so on and so forth.

“While the government is not averse to talking to these entities, these human beings, I have to be very honest, the government has to apply its weight, that force that is required because you can’t even talk with people who are unreliable people, who will turn out to do a different thing and people who will continue to hurt society.

“So, basically, what the government wants to rely upon is to deal with this issue by using all the assets – military assets, intelligence assets to eliminate these people….

“If along the line, some of them are ready to come out and talk and negotiate, when the time comes, we will do that but for now, we can’t keep on dwelling on ‘Let’s dialogue’.

“Psychologically, it is not even good for us, it paints the picture of weakness, it paints the picture of incapacity and I, just like the governor of Kaduna State said, do not see any reason why we cannot, with what we have, deal with these elements.

“These are not people who are looking for anything that is genuine (or) legitimate; these are people who are just out to perform atrocities, to take calculated measures to inflict pain, violence on people.

“At the slightest opportunity, they go haywire. And so, it is important for us to realize that we are dealing with people who are not looking for anything, people who without provocation will give birth to their homicidal instincts. We must deal with them the way they have to be dealt with.”

▪︎ With additional reports by NAN