The Federal Government said the heightened insecurity in the country exposed the security challenge the nation faces.
Minister of Information and National Orientation Alhaji Mohammed Idris, at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, stated that the killing of a high-ranking Army General, the abduction of students in Kebbi State, as well as the attack on a Church in Kwara State, amongst others, are a stark realities of the nation’s security challenges.
“This heinous attack on those dedicated to our protection and on the future of our youth, and the assault on our places of worship, only strengthen the resolve of the Federal Government to rise above the challenges and deal a permanent blow to terrorism,” he said.
Alhaji Idris noted that President Tinubu has postponed his international engagements, particularly the G20 Meeting in South Africa to allow him to focus on the developments within Nigeria.
He also disclosed that the president has also directed the military and the police to deploy more men in Eruku and the entire Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.
“Similarly, the Vice President, His Excellency Senator Kashim Shettima, at the behest of the president, is at present in Birnin Kebbi to meet with the Governor of Kebbi state, His Excellency Alhaji Nasir Idris, security chiefs, traditional rulers, and families of the abducted school girls.
“The VP’s entourage includes the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, the newly appointed Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, the Minister of Women Affairs, Honourable Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim, and the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Hajiya Zubaida Umar,” the minister further stated.
The minister said that President Tinubu has put the nation’s security apparati on alert, and has deployed them to actively pursue and eliminate terrorists, bandits, and criminal elements wherever they may be in Nigeria.
“Our security forces have also been mandated to swiftly rescue the abducted Kebbi school girls and reunite them with their families,” he added.
Alhaji Idris dispelled the assertion that the attack was religious, describing such as divisive and narrow rhetoric seeking to frame the nation’s security challenges in sectarian terms.
“The government categorically refutes any characterisation of this situation along religious lines.
“Such claims are not only factually inaccurate but are also dangerously counterproductive to the national unity required to overcome our shared challenges.
“Nigeria’s security landscape is a complex combination of terrorism, banditry, and criminality that has claimed the lives and livelihoods of citizens across all ethnic and religious backgrounds.
“These forces of evil do not discriminate by faith; they target the very fabric of our nation.
“Indeed, framing Nigeria’s security challenges in religious terms is counterproductive to national unity, especially at a time when we need to stand together to defeat extraneous forces that are bent on destabilizing our country.
“The international community, including respected global religious leaders, acknowledges the complex socio-economic and political roots of the conflicts, rather than a simplistic sectarian narrative,” he said.
Alhaji Idris said the Federal Government is deploying all available resources and strategies to decisively win this battle for the nation’s security and future.
“We remain optimistic that the abducted Kebbi school girls will be rescued and safely returned to their families,” he said.
