The National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Nuhu Ribadu, says Nigeria is better secure than it was before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration came into power on May 29, 2023.
Ribadu, who spoke at Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, during a one-day All Progressives Congress (APC) summit with the theme “Renewed Hope Agenda: The Journey So Far,” noted that while other countries are literally on their knees, Nigeria is standing strong “and confronting the evil.”
He added that the recent Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province (BH/ISWAP attacks in Borno State was due to the resurgence of Jihadi activists in the Sahel region.
The National Security Adviser explained that the Sahel region is under severe security threat by terrorists which led to collapse of democracy in places like Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and still bleeding nations including Chad, Cameroon and Benin Republic.
Ribadu stated that the Tinubu administration inherited five active security challenges on assumption of office and they include Boko Haram in the North East and banditry in the North West, secessionist agitations by the IPOB/ESN in the South East, Niger-Delta unrest and communal conflicts/herder-farmer conflicts especially in the North Central.
He noted that over 35,000 and 12,000 persons were affected by the Boko Haram/ISWAP and banditry crises, respectively, while millions of people were rendered homeless in the affected areas.
The NSA said the security agencies have been working as a team to tackle challenges such as the sit-at-home in the South East and sabotage of oil installations in the Niger Delta, and that they have been substantially addressed.
Giving the breakdown, Ribadu said over 13,543 Boko Haram elements were neutralised in the past two years while over 11,000 arms were recovered and destroyed from the terrorists.
He further noted 124,408 Boko Haram fighters and their families surrendered to troops since the coming of this administration.
The NSA said despite some setbacks, operations are going on in Tumbuktu Triangle, Tumbu islands and other enclaves to smoke out the insurgents.