The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Security Chiefs and the 19 governors of the Northern States on Thursday held a crucial meeting on the alarming rising insecurity situation in Northern parts of the country.
Informed sources told the Nigerian Tribune that the meeting, which was held behind closed-door at the office of the National Security Adviser ONSA, Abuja commenced at about 1:30 pm and ended at about 6 pm.
Speaking shortly after the meeting, the chairman, of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, said the meeting was convened to discuss and review strategies towards tackling cases of insecurity in the North.
According to him, “The essence of the meeting as you can see is between the governors and the Service Chiefs and the National Security Adviser.
“So it relates to security and you know security is very typical, especially that there were the recent issues of kidnapping in the North-West and we are becoming so concerned that we need to discuss, review and possibly take alternative options to what we have been doing before so that we can have a better result,”
The governor further explained that the need for a collaborative approach to tackling insecurity in the region amongst the stakeholders necessitated the meeting.
Gov Yahaya who noted that the security agencies were doing their best stressed the need for non-kinetic and kinetic approaches to address the remote causes of insecurity in the region
According to him, “In fact, that’s the best way to go because the issue is until we join the two (approaches) and already the Service Chiefs and all other security agencies have been doing their best trying to cover.
“So what we need to do is to change style, especially in addition with the non-kinetic approach, so that at the end of it when we join the two, we’ll have a better security situation in the country,” he stated.
Terrorists had in March this year abducted about 287 students and teachers from the LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State while 112 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Gamboru Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State were also abducted by terrorists a few days ago and 15 Tsangaya students were also abducted in Sokoto State last weekend.
