- Says “Avoidable Errors’ In Kaduna Bombing Cannot Be Repeated
- Bode George Cries Out, Says Insecurity Out Of Hand
In a bid to forestall a reoccurrence of the deadly mistaken bombing of civilians in Kaduna State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for coordination among security agencies in ridding the nation of internal threats.
The Matrix had reported that last December, a deadly military airstrike killed at least 85 people and injured several others at Tudun Biri village in the Igabi Local Government Area of the North-Western state. The incident drew condemnation from many, with the army claiming responsibility and apologising.
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A month later, President Tinubu described the bombing as a series of avoidable errors, saying it cannot be repeated.
Addressing security chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies at a Presidential Security Briefing at the State House, in Abuja, on Friday, warned the military against failing in their responsibilities.
“The success you are recording is undeniable. Nigerians are seeing it, but the avoidable errors, as witnessed recently in Kaduna, are unacceptable and cannot be repeated,” the President was quoted in a statement by his media aide, Ajuri Ngelale.
“I am pleased that coordination between all agencies has dramatically improved over recent months, but there is no room for celebrations until we can end this; until we can bring our troops back to their localities, and until we can free up resources for our critical economic expansion programme.
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“I do not play with my intelligence reports. I have multiple lines of sight. The Navy and sister branches must step up their game to achieve our aims for the benefit of all Nigerians. All malign actors will be aggressively uprooted from our midst. Those working against the national agenda from within and without will meet justice. Your task is clear. We will sustain our momentum. Failure is not an option under my leadership.”
He said while good progress is being made with the elimination of some security threats across multiple theatres, success will ultimately be defined by a final conclusion to the multi-dimensional menace.
While the President is speaking about the visible improvement in security, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has lamented that the security situation in the country has gone beyond control.
He said the situation the country is in at the moment has gone beyond playing politics, adding that President Tinubu has a lot of work to do and Nigerians are ready to give him time.
“The state of our nation has been completely in a shambolic situation, it is perpetual despair and despondency. There is hunger in the land and there is anger in the land; the insecurity has gone beyond control,” Chief George said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.
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“So, when you look at all those things; we are all Nigerians and I listened to his (Tinubu) New Year speech and I also listened to what Chief Osoba said, this is not the time to play politics, it is our nation. He (Tinubu) has a hell of a job to do and I have listened to him. He has these eight objectives for the year, national defence, internal security, and job creation; the man who left who was my oga did a woeful job, he did not do well at all; they belong to the same party.
“So, we all Nigerians will give him a chance, let us see how he is going to handle it. Bola Tinubu, God will guide him – he is in the hottest seat in the whole of Africa today because for every 10 Africans 6 are Nigerians, brilliant people. So nobody can pull any wool over our eyes, I pray for him, I pray for our country.”
With the recent killings in Plateau which claimed over two hundred lives and killings happening in other parts of the country, George was asked what he expects from President Tinubu to stem these ugly developments and he advocated for the use of modern technology.
“You need equipment, you need surveillance. The technology available now was not available at our time. So, it will be a combination of modern technology; put cameras all over like they do here in England. You don’t have to be physically there; you monitor from your control room things that are happening.”
The elder statesman also reiterated calls for state police, saying that much powers are concentrated on the shoulders of the Inspector General of Police.
“We need every state to have its police on the ground, whatever it is going to cost us because police work is a communal work, it means you will employ people from that community to do the police work,” he said.
He said the President does not have to do these things within one year but he must start from somewhere so that the people will see that he is doing something about the insecurity bedeviling the nation.
