Former President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has listed five things that the federal government must do to end the current insecurity across the country.
In posts on his verified social media pages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Saraki, who presided over the 8th Senate’s 20-Point Security Recommendations which were forwarded to the executive, emphasized the need for effective intelligence sharing and the use of technology in order to combat terrorism in Nigeria.
The former President of the Senate said:
“In the last 96-hours, terrorists have overrun an airport, bombed two trains with thousands of Nigerians, and killed and injured several innocent citizens. As angry as I am — and we all are — about these attacks, one thing is clear: THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.
“The recent attack we have seen at the Gidan train station is yet another example of why people no longer feel safe in Nigeria.
“We have seen too many attacks in too many communities across the country. We have lost far too many lives to still be at this point — commiserating daily with one family, one community, or the other. We need real solutions.
“As I have reiterated for many years, drastic and decisive steps need to be taken to review our nation’s basic security infrastructure to protect lives and property.
“One, the federal government must immediately establish an inter-agency task force that will formulate strategies to smoke out all bandits on the Kaduna-Abuja rail and vehicle routes. The recommendations of this task force must be acted upon immediately. In the long term, the task force should provide Nigerians with a strategy for ridding the entire country of bandits, insurgents, and kidnappers.
“Two, the service chiefs must have a meeting and develop an immediate plan for inter-agency collaboration. The gaps in coordination, intelligence-sharing, and synergy amongst our security agencies must be immediately redressed.
“Three, we must adopt 21st-century solutions to our present-day problems. We must make better use of technology to track the activities of these terrorists. We must equip our security operatives with the modern tools and equipment that they need to keep us all safe and prevent such attacks in the future.
“Four, we cannot view these attacks in isolation. Our intelligence network must be proactive. We must be able to analyze and plan effectively to deal with all perceived threats and all enemies of the Nigerian people.
“Five, we must show the strength of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by making sure that our Police, DSS, and Armed Forces immediately find, apprehend and prosecute all those that planned, participated, or facilitated these attacks in any way.
“We cannot continue like this. Two days ago, 970 people were attacked on a train between Katari and Rijana. Yesterday, Gidan. A few days ago, terrorists attacked the Kaduna Airport. Our people cannot continue to live with the constant pervasive fear of: “Where next?”
“For the sake of all Nigerians, we need real solutions and decisive action,” Dr. Saraki stated.
Signed:
Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office, Abuja