Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, says the security agencies need the support of Nigerians in the fight against insurgency.
Speaking on Tuesday when he declared open the 2019 Nigerian army infantry corps conference in Jaji, Kaduna state, he said bandits do not come from the moon.
He said they live among ordinary citizens and patronise the same markets, emphasising the need for intelligence gathering.
According to him, “terrorism is quite a complex phenomenon and situation that requires a more comprehensive approach, which comprises in totality of government, and the involvement of every individual in the country.”
He explained that the army is employing maximum intelligence in its efforts to combat and contain all forms of insurgencies.
Buratai said the fight against armed banditry and other forms of social vices should not be left to traditional leaders or security agencies alone, but should be a collective responsibility of every well-meaning Nigerian.
“Bandits or insurgents don’t come from the moon, they are everywhere, they go to markets to make purchases, interact with people every now and then, hence the need for information and intelligent gathering and sharing to help achieve the required results,” Buratai said.
“The Nigerian armed forces will continue to discharge their duties in the protection of the territorial integrity of the country.
“The change in the Nigeria army and its innovation are quite outstanding. With our collective effort with other security agencies, we were able to deal decisively with the Boko Haram insurgences.
“Today we have the full initiative in collaboration with the members of Multi National Joint Task Force countries, we are working hard to ensure that we finally sanitise the northern part of Borno, our border fringes with Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
“Within the hinterlands, some of them are still hibernating in the remote areas, they are planing and we are also planning to counter them.
“We will ensure that we employ the maximum intelligence required to contain those within the hinter land.
“If this is done, we will be able to contain insurgency at anytime it rears its ugly head. It cannot be left to the traditional rulers, local government chairmen, state governors or the federal government institutions like the military, police or the Armed Forces alone. It is the collective responsibility of everybody.
“Every individual and society has a role to play. If the overall populace sees it as their own responsibility to support government and security agencies, it means we are going to resolve every security issues in the country.” (The Cable)
