The National Security Adviser, NSA, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, was said to have given lawmakers in the upper legislative chamber a lowdown on the results yielded by the efforts of security agencies to tame insecurity in the country.
The NSA’s briefing was at the request of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who, through the resolution of the chamber last week, summoned the meeting of security chiefs with the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun present.
Akpabio, in his remarks, lamented the spate of insecurity across states and in Abuja. He expressed the determination of the Senate to intervene to stem the tide of insecurity.
The NSA, Minister of Interior, Tunji Ojo, Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, his Finance counterparts, and service chiefs took turns speaking with Nuhu Ribadu, insisting that the exploits of security agents averted many major terrorist attacks since President Bola Tinubu took over in May last year.
A lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity told our newsman: “The NSA told us that about 20 gun-running networks were demobilised, while over 5,000 military-grade weapons were seized and destroyed by government agencies.”
According to Ribadu, kidnapping and banditry have translated into economic crimes in recent times due to pressure from security agents, while he expressed the hope, that they will eventually end in a short time.
The lawmaker quoted Ribadu as having said that, there was a significant increase in oil production in South South and relative peace in the South-East region of the country.
“The Chief of Air Staff also gave an excellent account of how the air component of the war complements the work of troops on ground.
“He mentioned how they killed two key leaders of bandits, Ali Kachalla and Yellow Janburos, and how that has helped to halt the interstate movement of bandits and logistics, especially around Kaduna, Niger, and Zamfara States,” the lawmaker said.
According to him, the Inspector General of Police also spoke about rooting out criminals in the suburbs of Abuja and how his men have checkmated activities of one-chance criminals in the capital city.
Despite the satisfaction expressed by most lawmakers in their contributions, others pointed out areas of operational lapses that deserve attention and urged the service chiefs to ensure harmony and cooperation for maximum success.
The Minister of Finance was told to expedite the release of funds as soon as they were due.