APC Senator Decries Worsening Insecurity, Asks NSA to Resign

  Delta monarchs demand military action

Goddy Egene

A senator elected on the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sani Musa, has called on  the National Security Adviser (NSA),Babagana Monguno, to resign following the worsening security situation in the country.

 Senator Musa, who hails from Niger, one of the worst-hit states by terrorists’ activities, made the call last night when  appearing  on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

According to him, Monguno, a retired major general and former Chief of Defence Intelligence, has no reason to remain as the nation’s top security strategist with the continued killings of innocent people.

He said: “What proactive action has the NSA taken? We have to call a spade a spade. If I was the NSA in this country, I will tender my resignation because I have failed. When they (terrorists) are creating cells, you do not wait until when you are attacked before acting. The intelligence that is being shared is a pre-information given to you at a stage where these culprits have not concluded their plans and you neutralise them. For me, I believe that we need to restrategise.”

The lawmaker, who represents Niger East senatorial district in the National Assembly, said to  describe the issue of insecurity as disturbing is an understatement.

“To say the issue of insecurity is disturbing is an understatement, Nigeria is a country that is evolving, and we have never seen it like this since after the civil war. We used to have armed forces that are reckoned; they have fought wars in other countries in order to bring peace to those countries but today, the whole thing is different,” he said.

Armed non-state actors, including bandits and terrorists, have scaled up activities recently, extending their operations to attacks on security apparatus such as the correctional facility in Abuja and some security formations.

One of such is the attack on troops of the Presidential Guards Brigade which provides security for the seat of power and the nation’s capital where some soldiers were reportedly killed.

And amid the outcry over the deteriorating situation, Monguno last week said the security agencies have adopted a new strategy to tackle the threat.

But this is not enough for members of the opposition in the National Assembly who handed a two-week ultimatum to the President to resolve the nation’s security challenges and threatened to commence impeachment proceedings against him should he fail to act as demanded.

Meanwhile, the Delta State Council of Traditional Rulers has decried the heightened insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the FCT and demanded urgent intensified military action to end the deteriorating state of insecurity in the country.

Their demand is contained in  the communique issued at the end of the monthly meeting of the traditional rulers from across the three Senatorial districts in the state held in Asaba.

The four-point communiqué also challenged all stakeholders in the security sector to brace up to their roles and ensure the security of lives and property of Nigerians as they prepare for the 2023 general elections.

The traditional rulers reiterated the need for the overhaul of the security architecture to give a more biting effect against insurgency in the country and restore normalcy in the land.

The First Vice Chairman of the Council and Pere of Akugbene Mien, Luke Kalanama VIII, who presided over the meeting, said the monarchs were concerned by the deteriorating insecurity occasioned by unending deadly attacks and treats of attack by the insurgents.

Flanked by the second Vice Chairman and Obi of Ubulu uno, Agbogidi Henry Kikachukwu 1 and the immediate Past chairman of the Council, Dr Emmanuel Efeizomor 11, Kalanama VIII said the monarchs were worried by the recent cult related killing of three policemen in Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State and called on the police to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to justice.

In his contribution, the immediate past Chairman of the Council and Obi of Owa, Dr Emmanuel Efeizomor II, spoke extensively on the current spate of insecurity in the land and tasked traditional rulers and their subjects to be vigilant always to forestall any breakdown of law and order in their domains.