We’re winning war against terrorism — Defence Minister

MaTaZ ArIsInG
Dallas, Texas

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Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), on Sunday expressed optimism that Nigeria is winning the war against terrorism.

General Musa, who expressed optimism during an interview session on Sunday Politics, also confirmed that some of the people named as sponsors of terrorism have been arrested, while others are currently being prosecuted.

He disclosed that the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Department of State Security (DSS) are also working assiduously to identify some of the people involved, including politicians financing terrorism in the country.

General Musa also assured that the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) is also working with international bodies to get the funders of terrorist activities in the country.

He maintained that despite the enormous challenges facing the military in the bid to strengthen internal security across the country, efforts are being made to improve the capacity and funding of the country’s security architecture.

He also noted that a database is essential in the recruitment process with a view to ensuring proper identification of those being recruited into the Armed Forces, adding that efforts are being made to strengthen the capacity of the Military and other security agencies.

General Musa, however, ruled out the use of machinery, stressing that Nigerian nationals are only responsible for the fight against insurgency, in addition to international support.

While expressing confidence in the capacity of the Nigerian Armed Forces, he disclosed that the recent military coup that took place was foiled as a result of the prompt intervention of the Nigerian Army, on the directive of Mr. President.

According to him, the President of the Benin Republic called for help through President Tinubu.

He expressed optimism that the recent diplomatic relationship with Turkey will further strengthen the country’s security architecture, especially in the areas of infrastructure, training, maintenance, intelligence gathering, and border control.

He assured that the low-hanging fruit from the Nigeria-Turkey collaboration will yield positive results as quickly as possible, adding that Nigeria has already taken delivery of certain equipment.

When asked about the gains accruing to Turkey from the recent state visit, the Minister of Defence, who accompanied President Tinubu to Turkey during the State visit, maintained that Nigeria is paying for the agreements signed for the supply of military hardware, in addition to friendly diplomatic ties, adding that thousands of Nigerians are also studying in Turkey.

While noting that the issue of security should not be left for the Federal Government, he stressed the need for State Governments to strengthen the Local Government Areas in the bid to win the war against criminality, adding that there are some motor parks being used to ferry arms and ammunition across the country.

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The minister, who noted that terrorism started in the North East region, blamed the spread of the security challenges on the failure to take decisive action by nipping the crisis in the bud.

General Musa called for synergy in the fight against insecurity and criminality across the country, maintaining that if Nigeria fails, everybody goes down.

Responding to a question on the number of kidnapping activities in the Northern parts of the country, General Musa, who confirmed that the insecurity is ravaging North Central, North East and North West, disclosed that the military has succeeded in killing the Commandeers and leaders of some of the terrorist groups.

He added that the Military is working in Niger and Kwara with a view to preventing them from entering the Southern part of the country, which he argued “will be dangerous.”

He assured that the Military is going a lot to ensure that the Sambisa forest and other locations where insurgents are carrying out their operations are taken over by the Nigerian troops.

He also cautioned Nigerian leaders across the country, including politicians, traditional rulers, and religious leaders, to be wary of making inflammatory statements that could worsen the current security situation, just as he underscored the need for all well-meaning Nigerians to be united in the bid to win the war against insecurity.

Reacting to the purported execution of General Uba by the insurgents, the Minister of Defence argued that General Uba was only declared as ‘missing in action, not dead in action’ as there is no convincing evidence that he was killed so far.

He assured that the Military authorities are still in touch with his Family.

Speaking on the 2027 politics and consideration for the Vice President position in the forthcoming election, General Musa argued that he was appointed by President Tinubu to ensure the security of the country, hence stressed that he does not want to be distracted by politics.

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