The National Security Council (NSC) has directed the new service chiefs to go out there and reclaim areas that are being dominated now by bandits, kidnappers and other criminals.

Rising from a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, today, March 2, at the Presidential villa, Abuja, the Council, mandated the Minister of Defence, to move men and offers towards reclaiming “all areas that have been dominated by bandits, by kidnappers and other scoundrels of scallywags.

Briefing new men after the meeting, the National Security Adviser, retired Major General Babagana Monguno said that the Council directed all the intelligence agencies to collapse all their efforts onto one platform, so that with the convergence of efforts, they would be able to give the required intelligence to the operational elements of government.

The Council, he said, looked at the issue of freedom of citizens to reside wherever they wish to reside as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, adding that while the the government endorsed that anybody who is a criminal, who acts on his own outside the law, should be brought to book wherever he is, it would not allow a situation where citizens pitch themselves against one other.

“Therefore, Mr. President has charged each and every one to be mindful of this situation because once we start to profile ourselves along ethnic or religious lines, then there’ll be no end to it. “We’ve seen what has happened in so many countries around the globe, and we do not want Nigeria to fall into that type of situation.

The Council emphasized that no sovereign nation would allow a group of non state actors to bring it down to its knees and render the state in state of panic, apprehension, mistrust, disorder, and so on and so forth.

“Therefore, both the defence and intelligence organizations have been charged that while we look forward to having a peaceful, non-kinetic resolution, we will not allow this country to drift into state failure and from today, the intelligence agencies have been directed to place under surveillance, all non state actors that have been causing problems for the innocent peoples, not just in Zamfara State or the Northwest zone, but also the Northeast and other parts of the country. We have had a lot of reports coming in about collusion with people from all walks of life.”

He said that while the federal government is not averse to the application of non-kinetic means, to resolve this problem, “I need to make it very clear that the federal government will not hesitate to apply to the fullest its kinetic means to restore normalcy to the country. I’m sure you’re all aware of the fact that no country will tolerate a group of non-state actors.”

Security operatives have finally gotten a presidential order to trail and flush out all the “big people” who consider themselves untouchable, that have been promoting and heightening insecurity in Nigeria and who have been on the security watch list.

“Already, the President has given directives to the military and intelligence organizations to trail and flush out all the people that have been on our watch list and I can assure you that there are quite a handful of people on our watch list.

“They will be trailed, they will be routed out and they’ll be brought to book. They’ll be prosecuted and they’ll be made an example of, and anybody who wants to use this situation to blackmail the government should also think.”

These positions of the federal government were unveiled today, March 2, by the National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Major General Babagana Monguno, at a news briefing after the meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

General Monguno told newsmen that the Council acknowledged that the security situation is getting worse every day, but that it was resolved that the nation had had enough of violence, enough of chaos and enough of anarchy.

“I want to stress once more that any individual or group that thinks it can take it upon itself to cause disunity, disharmony and push the country to the brink should have a rethink. Any individual who thinks he has any support, who thinks he can undermine this government, anybody, any human being, as long as he’s a citizen of this country, any one person who thinks he’s the cat’s whiskers, or he can be rocky on the perch and lead us into a situation of unhappiness, will have himself to blame at the end of the day.

“Now, I need to stress also that there are individuals in this country who have assumed a status that is beyond what they should be. The intelligence from our own sources, the intelligence at my disposal and the disposal of the other intelligence hence, reveals that we have certain entities, certain individuals who are making capital out of insecurity, especially kidnapping.

“This is a situation that has to be brought to an end and I’m sending a warning to anybody who is hiding beneath a veneer of some status, whether official, in terms of an official capacity or traditional or religious, to stoke the flames of disorder will have himself to blame.”

The NSA said that the President asked the security chiefs to put their heads together to try as much as possible to work on a whole of government basis, in conjunction with a whole of scientific basis to achieve a whole of nation result.

“When I say whole of government, I’m not saying whole of executive. I’m saying the whole of executive, legislature and judiciary.

“That is what the partnership is and this partnership will work with people outside the federal establishment: those that are working with the state governments, working with traditional and religious organizations and local community leaders, while at the same time trying to enhance community policing.”

He stressed that the government is very serious about addressing the security challenges once and for all, saying that the nation cannot be allowed to drift into a situation that it would continue to lose lives.

“We are not going to be blackmailed, we’re going to use whatever is at our disposal, while operating within the confines of legitimacy, within the confines of legality, but the government has a responsibility to assert its will, using the instruments at its disposal to keep the state moving, alive, happy in prosperity. This will not be compromised.”

Uncertainties and confusion have taken over the supply of petrol in most parts of Abuja, the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Our reporters who went round today, March 2 to assess the scarcity of fuel and the attendants at a few that are selling the product, said that while some have increased the price per litre, justling and fighting have broke out in other.
Report has it that a filling station in Gwagwalada, on Kuje road, is selling the fuel at 175 per litre.
It was gathered that in the same fuel station, N500 is being charged on every N2,000 a customer buys, apart from paying N500 each to gatemen before opening the day barricade.
In Kuje, on Gwagwalada road, physical fight ensued between an attendant and motorcyclists because the sales girl did not attend to them.

It was gathered that the young lady was forced by the unruly behaviours of the prospective buyers, to shut down the business.
The situation of panic buying and unruly behaviour of buyers in other fuel stations is the same, despite the assurance by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that there is no price increase now and that there’s no need for panic buying.