- The minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, states that without firearms those perpetrating the violence would not have the courage to do so with such magnitude as seen
- Dambazau says that there is need to take urgent steps toward ensuring that the situation is dealt with
- Youths in Benue have described the report by the Department of State Services on the killings in the state as a prejudiced script
The minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, on Tuesday, January 23 in Abuja, held a crucial closed-door meeting with heads of internal security agencies over the security challenges in the country.
Speaking before the meeting, Dambazau, a retired lieutenant general, expressed concern over the current security situation in the country.
He said that the meeting was a follow-up to a meeting with state governors over the violent conflicts between farmers and headers in Benue and other places, The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
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“One of the issues that came up in the communiqué was the issue of the proliferation of small arms and drug trafficking and abuse.
“We also found out that these two issues are triggers to the violence taking place in this country,” he said.
He said that without firearms those perpetrating the violence would not have the courage to do so with such magnitude as seen.
“Without the fire arms and those who partake in violence would not have the courage to carry out the kind of violence taking place in this country,” he said.
The minister said that there was need to take urgent steps toward ensuring that the situation was dealt with accordingly.
“As a follow-up I called for this meeting so that we can examine and analyse (the situation) to see how best we can deal with the situation,” he said.
He said that according to the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament, there were approximately 500 million assorted fire arms in West Africa and out of this figure, 350 million (representing 70 per cent) are in Nigeria.
He said that a large consignment of weapons had been smuggled from North Africa (in particular Libya) as a consequence of crises in that country.
“The situation is worsened by the insurgency in the North East because of the supply of weapons to the insurgents and terrorists there.
“Likewise the supply of weapon to the militants in the Niger Delta through exchange of stolen crude oil and supply by politicians to deal with their opponents,” he said.
He added that the issues required action especially as the 2019 elections draws nearer.
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“It is very necessary for us to secure our country and of course a more challenging aspect of that which facilitate the smuggling of weapons, is our porous borders and this is a major challenge to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigeria Custom Service in particular but to all law enforcement agencies,” he said.
He said that the about 5,000 kilometres of the country’s borders were porous, hence the need to secure the country and its future.
Dambazau added that with the amount of weapons coming into Nigeria, “if we don’t do something now I am afraid things would be worse than this.”
He said that the farmers/herders conflicts, kidnapping, ethno-religious crises, terrorism, armed robbery, cultism and militancy all had something to do with weapons and trafficking of illicit substances.
“We cannot do this without the continued partnership with state governments and religious organisations,” he said.
He said that the meeting would come up with strategies on how best to handle the problems.
The meeting had in attendance representatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Directorate of State Services, National Intelligence Agency, Nigeria Customs Service, and the United Nations Development Programme, among others.
Meanwhile, youths under the aegis of the Benue Youth Forum have rejected the recent report presented to President Muhammadu Buhari by the Department of the State Services (DSS) on the killings in the state.
The group said news of the said DSS report was received with shock.
Describing the report as a prejudiced script, the youths said the DSS is deliberately trying to, "twist facts but also a dance on the graves of the innocent children, women, youths and the aged people massacred by armed Fulani herdsmen."
In a statement released by Terrence Kuanum, the forum's president, BYF said: "Our stand is built on the fact that three different Fulani groups have claimed responsibility for the new year attacks on Benue communities which left 73 people dead."
Describing the report as a prejudiced script, the youths said the DSS is deliberately trying to, "twist facts but also a dance on the graves of the innocent children, women, youths and the aged people massacred by armed Fulani herdsmen."
Kuanum said days after the attacks, Miyetti Allah Kautal claimed that Benue people rustled 1,000 of their cows, a reason the herders group gave for attacking residents in Logo and Goma local government areas in the state.
Victims of Herdsmen killing buried in Benue state - on NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Wednesday, 24 January 2018