![Buhari, Service Chiefs meet in Aso Rock [ Photos]](https://thenewsguru.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Buhari-Service-chiefs.png)
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with service chiefs.
The meeting started at the President’s office in the State House around 11am.
Discussions at the meeting would likely dwell on the security situation in the country and how to ensure maximum security during next Saturday’s governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections across the country.
The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report.
President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed why he refused to sack his service chiefs and Inspector General of Police despite the many lapses in security.
Buhari who agreed that the performance of Nigeria security apparatus under the service chiefs has been disappointing, however, insisted that removing them is a decision that calls for lots of caution.
The President made the remarks during a recorded interview session with Thisday Newspaper which was published on Youtube by the media’s sister outlet, AriseTV and monitored by TheNewsGuru.com.
Asked why he hasn’t changed the Service chiefs, Police IG in spite that they have failed to actualise the goals of containing security threats in the country, Buhari replied: “I accept responsibility for not changing Service chiefs or Police IG, I am not afraid of either of them having being a soldier for about 20 years”
He furthered: “When you have a case of emergency, you have to be careful before tampering with the position of the head of services without waiting for the appropriate time.I am measuring the options very critically, if you don’t measure your intervention well, you will create competition within the service, there are so many ambitious person in the service..but only one man can be the Chief of Army Service, Chief of Air Staff or be the Inspector General of Police…”
“Don’t forget that it was this administration that appointed all three, and I did not make the decision on any personal issues, I followed records and thought that I picked the best then. Of course their performance may be disappointing, but having being a minister, head of state and now president I know that handling the military service one needs to be careful because one doesn’t know the ambition of those coming up.
He however stressed that he will take action on the Police IG’ tenure expiration case.
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The Igbo for Nigeria Movement has described the call for the sack of Service Chiefs by the Ohaneze Elders as a misnomer as well as a deliberate attempt to distract the ongoing efforts of the Nigerian Military in routing the remnants of Boko Haram terrorist in the North East region.
In a statement issued by its national president, Mazi Ifeanyi Igwe, it stated that the call must have been instigated by kidnappers who fear that the Army will continue to keep them out of their evil business with the various military operations in parts of the country with some certain names at the helms of affairs in the Nigerian Military.
“The call for the sack of the service chiefs is not only baseless; it was done in poor taste and with sinister motives. it is therefore consequent to state that since 2015, the business of kidnapping for ransom had been reduced to its barest minimum due to the presence of military personnel carrying out military operations in many parts of the country including the South East region.”
The statement further added that a situation where the Ohanaze elders are being used by some overzealous Igbo officers to advance their agenda is indeed worrisome and calls for concern.
“The Ohaneze Elders should be wary of been used as a conduit by some overzealous Igbo officers to advance their agenda for personal gains. Instead, it should dwell on promoting the unity of Nigeria”
“The Igbo for Nigeria Movement is in the know of the plot and wishes to advise members of the unsuspecting public of the plot orchestrated by some overzealous Igbo Officers in the military who are bent in whipping up ethnic sentiments in the buildup to the general elections.”
The statement also stated that the call for the compulsory retirement of service chiefs and top military commanders is the prerogative of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces and not a socio-cultural group. “We at this moment wish to inform the Ohaneze Elders that such calls are not within their purview and as such, they should concern themselves with the business of their socio-cultural activities.”
“We wish to state in empathic terms that the call for the sack of service chief is at best the hands of Esau and the voice of Jacob, and as such, it should be disregarded by the relevant political authorities.
From Jonas Ezieke Abuja
The House of Representatives has resolved to set up an Ad-hoc Committee to probe the utilization of $1bn approved for the Federal Government to fight insurgency in the North-East region of the country by Service Chiefs saying that someone must be held accountable for the recent killing of 118 soldiers at Army base Metele in Borno State.
The House further said that the Army authorities must after due consultations immediately release the names of the fallen soldiers who were attacked an killed in the onslaught by Boko Haram insurgents.
These resolutions were taken after a motion on the killing of 118 soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents sponsored by Hon. Chukwuka Onyema (Anambra,PDP) on the floor of the House.
Debating the motion, Onyema noted that there was a recent attack on Army base in Borno State leading to the killing of 118 soldiers and a commanding officer some Boko Haram insurgents.
He further hinted that no less than 600 soldiers had lost the lives in various insurgency attacks on military bases and formations in the North Eastern part of the country
The lawmaker that there were countless number of attacks on military officers and men by insurgents which in some cases had resulted in fatalities.
He condemned the studied silence of President Muhammad Buhari and the Army authorities kept over the unwarranted assault on the soldiers saying that they were not pardonable.
While calling for investigation into the matter especially utilization of funds on personnel emoluments and procurement of equipments by the Service Chiefs he further informed the House that the Senate had adjourned plenary for a week over the sad incident.
Speaking in support of the motion. Hon. Aminu Shagari said the foremost responsiblity of a governnent is security of lives of its citizens.
While decrying the security situation in most northern states he added that present federal government of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari had failed to secure the citizens adding he is that he expecting nothing less than total decimation of the insurgents.
Also in their individual contributions Hon. Nnenna Ukeje (Abia, PDP), Hon. Sani Abdu (Bauchi, PDP) and Hon. Gabriel Onyewife (Anambra, APGA) said that the the country cannot afford to be loosing its able bodied citizens for insurgency.
Onyewife had insisted that there would be any free and fair election in Nigeria in the next year’s general elections if the insurgents are still controlling some parts of the country and are hacking down soldiers and civil populace in such huge numbers.
Other lawmakers who also supported the motion notably Hon. EJ Agbonayinma (Edo, APC), Hon Beni Lar (Plateau, PDP) and Aminu Jaji (Zamfara, APC) also said that the utilization of appropriated funds by the security agencies should be called to question.
Consequently, the Speaker Hon. Yakubu Dogara put the motion to a voice vote and the matter was overwhelmingly voted for.
Dogara said that it is disheartening that the insurgency had persisted adding that it is more worrisome because he comes from North-East.
He added that that the House Ad-hoc Committee asked to probe the matter should raise some fundamental questions with a view to finding solution to the challenge.
He said that Nigeria that that is endowed with vast resources ought to ‘ve defeated insurgency long ago as other African countries as Chad, Niger and Cameron.
President Muhammadu Buhari and Service chiefs met yesterday over the recent attacks on and killing of soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents at the 157 Task Force Battalion in Metete, in Borno State community on the Nigeria-Chad border.
According to Presidency sources, all the Service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police met behind closed doors with the President at the State House in Abuja.
The President, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had Saturday expressed deep shock over the killing of troops.
Shehu said in the statement that the President had taken measures to block the loopholes which led to the fatalities in the November 18 attack.
It said that the President and his administration remained more committed and focused on the security of military personnel and other citizens.
The statement reads: “No responsible Commander-in-Chief would rest on his oars or fold his hands to allow terrorists to endanger the lives of its military personnel and other citizens.
“Our loyal forces have proved their strength over the terrorists and we are ready to give them all the needed support in terms of equipment and manpower to succeed in ending the renewed threat.
“In the coming days, I am engaging the Military and Intelligence Chiefs in extensive discussions on the next steps we shall be taking.”
The President pointed out that fighting terrorism has taken a global dimension, which necessitates international collaboration among states facing similar security challenges.
He reassured Nigerians of his continued commitment to their security and of his efforts to sustain the momentum in the previous significant successes recorded against the terrorists.
But, he warned Nigerians against making a political capital out of national tragedy, stressing that members of the armed forces are one family who are commonly committed to the security and safety of all.
The President had at the week ordered dispatched the Defence Minister Brig.-Gen Mansur Dan Ali to go and meet the President of Chad and the country’s Defence Minister on how to tackle insurgency within the borders of the two countries.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday summoned Service Chiefs over the recent alleged killing of 44 Nigerian soldiers by Boko Haram Insurgents.
The president also sent the Minister of Defence, Brig.Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali, to neighbouring Chad Republic as part of moves to unravel the mystery behind the gruesome killing of the soldiers by the insurgents.
According to a report by The Punch, Dan-Ali got a presidential mandate to meet with the President of Chad, Idris Deby, and the neighbouring country’s top military hierarchy to review the deteriorating security situation along the Chad-Niger-Nigeria borderline.
Recall that Boko Haram attacks have witnessed a resurgence lately along the common borders, with Nigeria said to have paid a costly price with the lives of the 44 soldiers and many villagers between Sunday and last Monday.
The soldiers were killed in Metele, a village along the Nigerian border with Niger Republic.
A military source quoted by APF, had disclosed that the soldiers were completely taken unawares and killed.
The insurgents were said to have arrived in the Borno State village in 20 trucks before launching the deadly attacks.
“Our troops were completely routed and the terrorists captured the base after heavy fighting”, the military source further stated.
It was gathered on Friday that after a review of the security situation by the Nigerian authorities, the main cause of the problem was traced to the weakening Multi-National Joint Task Force put in place by the countries to patrol the borders.
However, Chad reportedly withdrew its own men from the force, leaving its flanks on the borders open for the insurgents to launch attacks freely lately into other countries.
The source added, “That lacuna is being exploited by the Boko Haram terrorists, who go in and out of Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon to launch attacks.
“This is a clear illustration of the fact that terrorism is beyond national borders.”
When contacted for comments on Friday, the Senior Special Assistant to Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, confirmed that Dan-Ali indeed travelled to Chad.
However, he claimed not to know the purpose of the minister’s trip to the neighbouring country.
The protest was led by the Convener, Concerned Nigerians, Adeyanju Deji; Adebayo Raphael (Our Mumu Don Do Movement); Ariyo Atoye (Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy); and Nwazuruahu Shield (Leadership and Accountability Initiative)
Others included Moses Paul (Mad Connect) and Bako Usman, Campaign for Democracy.
The movement said, “We are deeply concerned, that our country’s service chiefs, who were trained to defend Nigeria’s territorial integrity, and the heads of security agencies, who are saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and properties of Nigerians without compromise, all decided to recklessly abandon their responsibilities and shamelessly attend a function of unbridled partisanship.
“It appears that these security chiefs, who are constitutionally empowered to provide security support for the electoral umpire in the best interest of our country, have taken sides with, and have become lackeys of the ruling All Progressives Congress.”
It noted that the 2019 elections might not be a contest among political parties, “but an ignominious battle between the security agencies who now shamelessly stand with the ruling APC against the opposition political parties in the country.”
The protesters demanded the sacking of the security chiefs for failing to provide solutions to the security crises facing the country.
The group, while presenting a copy of their petition to a US mission official, asked the US to prevail on the APC to stop vote-buying in the country.
“We would like to call the attention of the United States and its allies to the inhumane and undemocratic scheme of vote-buying that is presently being propagated by the ruling APC across the country.
“We believe that this menace is a major attempt by the APC to subvert the will of the electorates by inducing them with money at the polling units,” it alleged.
Atoye accused the military high command of compromising the counter-insurgency campaigns in the North-East, blaming this for the reported killing of over 70 soldiers by Boko Haram on Tuesday.
The Presidency on Monday described the appearance of service chiefs at Sunday’s launch of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign manual as “mistaken assumption.”
Recall that Buhari on Sunday presented his campaign document at an event tagged “Next Level 2019” which held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
The nation’s military chiefs were reportedly at the event but left early.
Pictures of the service chiefs went viral on social media with most commentators condemning the “politicisation of security agencies.”
Punch Newspaper also allegedly published a report on the appearance of the military top brass leading to an explanation by the presidency.
The spokesperson to President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, in a response on Monday evening said,
“Punch should have asked what brought the Service Chiefs to the “Next Level 2019” event at the State House, only to leave before it got underway”.
Shehu said the military chiefs were “mistaken in their assumption that this was a non-political event, to showcase the achievements of the administration, the success of which they are a part.”
He also said hardly were they seated “did the Minister of Defence, Brigadier General Mansur Dan AlI (Rtd) ask them to leave as this was a political gathering.”
Shehu added that the military chiefs “quickly left, even before the arrival of the President and for the event to get under way. The fuss over this in therefore absolutely unnecessary.”
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met behind closed doors with service chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
It was one of the President’s first major engagement since returning to Abuja on Saturday after 10-day working holiday in London.
The meeting, which was held at the President’s office stated around 11.27a.m
It was still in progress at the time of filing this report.
Details later…
The umbrella body of the Fulani social-cultural organisation in Nigeria, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, has rejected calls in some quarters for the sacking and replacement of the service chiefs because of the gruesome and persistent killings going on in some parts of the country.
The Secretary-General of the group, Saleh Al-Hassan, said this during an interview on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Monday.
A large section of Nigerians, including the National Assembly and governors, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the service chiefs for failing to protect the lives of Nigerians.
However, Al-Hassan said those calling for the sacking of the service chiefs “are corrupt politicians.”
He said, “We have documented 411 innocent pastoralists killed just in southern Kaduna for nothing. We have documented all the crises but because we want peace and want to promote the culture of peace and forgiveness hoping that our neighbours will continue to allow us to do our business.
“But the issue of arms and light weapons is a security one. I believe they (security agencies) are on top of it. With the arrests they are making, we must acknowledge the efforts security agencies have put in trying to contain criminality in this country.
“That is why people calling for the removal of service chiefs are either the corrupt politicians or the ones working for them. We should not fall for that gambit.”
Al-Hassan also rejected suggestions that herdsmen from other countries should be prevented from grazing their cattle in Nigeria.
He said the ECOWAS “free trade protocol guarantees free movement,” adding that herdsmen do not recognise international boundaries which he described as “colonial creations.”
Al-Hassan added, “You cannot just opt out of a protocol that is integrating the African continent. The pastoralist movement is not for picnics. They go there to access land resources. Also, these boundaries that you have are colonial boundaries.
“Some of them (boundaries) don’t mean anything to the herders. So, what we need to do is to domesticate the ECOWAS protocol, begin to enforce it and then we create grazing reserves for trans-human pastoralists.”
He said the solution remains ranching which must be partly funded by the government and supported by all Nigerians.
Al-Hassan lamented that every attempt by the Buhari government to establish ranches had been rejected by selfish politicians.
He said, “Policies aimed at solving these problems are strongly resisted. Attempts were made to put up a commission for grazing reserves to see how it can be done but it was shut down at the National Assembly. The minister of agriculture has been trying all his efforts to see that solutions are brought to the table but people read political motive to it and killed the policies.
“Today, we have a national livestock development plan that is well articulated but the same people saying we should ranch our cows are now saying they will not accept ranches so what are we talking about? So, we must understand the socio-political undercurrents.”
He lambasted Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State for initiating the anti-grazing law, adding that most of the arrests by security agencies showed it was Ortom’s men that were carrying out the killings.
Speaking at another event in Abuja, Alhassan said the security agencies must identify the perpetrators and sponsors of the killings in Plateau State, noting that corrupt politicians were behind the massacre.
At a colloquium organised by the Citizens Communication and Advocacy Centre, the Secretary-General of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore said that the National Assembly was laden with corruption and the legislators had not taken sufficient steps to address the farmers-herders’ crises.
The topic of the colloquium was, “Understanding democracy as instrument of development, integration and national cohesion.”
Alhassan said the association did not believe in the call for the sacking of the service chiefs, noting that the association usually shared “critical intelligence” with the agencies.
He said, “The spate of insecurity in this country is worrisome to anybody that loves this country and I think our security agencies should be up and doing. They should be able to identify the perpetrators and their sponsors and then ensure that justice is meted out to them. We must watch closely our politicians, their utterances and their body language because some of them are the ones promoting violence we are having in this country.
“We are not responsible for the killings in Plateau State. There are crises between farmers and herders all over the country, particularly in the North-Central geopolitical zone. We must recognise that it is a crisis that borders on land resources and we are calling on the government to put mechanisms in place for sustainable management of the land resources.
“But first, our security agencies must be supported to identify the perpetrators and the promoters of this violence. We must closely monitor some of these evangelicals that preach hatred in churches and mosques and desperate politicians that are facing corruption charges. We must be able to get all of them and watch them closely so that they don’t set this country ablaze. They are the drivers of the conflict.
Alhassan, while faulting calls for the sacking of the nation’s security chiefs, argued that corrupt politicians were behind the campaign.
He said, “Most of these politicians own armed thugs and militias across the state. The government should also find those behind the importation of large arms into the country. Who are the people importing these arms?
“We need to overhaul the security architecture of the country but the service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police are doing their best. We should not listen to what desperate politicians are saying. It is the corrupt political elite who are creating crises in this country.
There are attempts by our group to assist the security agencies. We have been partnering the security agencies in terms of giving them critical intelligence where we suspect there are cattle rustlers and criminals.
“The calls for the removal of the service chiefs are empty calls. Desperate politicians and politicians facing criminal charges are the ones making that call.”