Insecurity: Ndume Talks Tough, Says Bandits Becoming Daring

Former leader of the Senate, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has condemned Tuesday’s attack on the Nigerian Defence College (NDA), in Kaduna, by bandits, describing it as unfortunate.

Ndume who spoke with newsmen in Abuja, however, said the attack is not the first on military facilities. He said for the first time, bandits had the audacity to take the fight to a military training school.

Ndume who chairs the Senate Committee on Army, said he expects the military to take a decisive action and take the fight to the insurgents.

The Borno South senator, also called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to address Nigerians more often, rather than rely on press statements from his media aide.

He said: “At the peak of the insurgency, the Boko Haram terrorists had the audacity in the past to take their fight to the military formations and barracks and the soldiers had had cause to withdraw from those areas and up till now, some of those military barracks had yet to be recovered or rebuilt.

“The attack on the NDA is therefore not the first, second or third time that the criminals would attack a military formation, however, this is the only time that the bandits have the audacity to take their fight to a military training institution.

“This is very unfortunate because they were so daring. I still believe that the Nigerian Army and the Armed Forces have well trained personnel who had done well in international engagements.

“So they have the capacity just that they are overwhelmed because they are facing many challenges from different fronts. There is no part of the country that is free of security challenges. I believe the insecurity situation is at its peak and the terrorists are engaging in guerilla warfare to send signals that they had not been eliminated.

“I have the confidence that before the end of the week, the military will take a decisive action because I know I know that that the commandant of the NDA, being a gallant soldier had embarked on a massive manhunt that would yield results.

“It is the responsibility of the military personnel at this stage to keep watch over one another and expose the activities of the moles among them who could have sympathy for the insurgents and prevent the unpatriotic insiders from giving out information that could sabotage the good works the Nigerian military is doing to end terror, banditry and other criminal activities in the country.

“Those who are making allegations that the sponsors of Boko Haram should come out and give out specific facts to the security agencies so that the alleged sponsors could be arrested, questioned and prosecuted if any wrong doing is established against them.

“The institutions of government are there and they are willing to listen and act appropriately. Anybody who is sure of himself and armed with proven information or intelligence, should bring it out.

“I am just being worried that the President is not talking to Nigerians. In a situation like this, silence is not golden. If the US President could be addressing Americans every day on the issue in Afghanistan, I also expect President Muhammadu Buhari, to be addressing Nigerians either daily, weekly or fortnightly on the security situations across Nigeria.

“The usual statements from his media aides is not the solution. The President should create a situation room to brief Nigerians on the current situation and what his government is doing about it. Such action would allay the fears of the people.

“It is not enough to provide the security agencies with everything they need to prosecute the war, the President should take charge. He should also cultivate the habit of visiting places where incidents happen to physically assess the situation on ground.”