EDITOR’S PICK:
EKO HOT BLOG reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his best wishes to Muslims in Nigeria and around the world recognizing the ending of the holy month of Ramadan, he stated that there is hope for the country in overcoming its challenges.
In a statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, Buhari said the end is in sight for those hiding under the banner of religion to commit heinous crimes.
He said: “After a period of fasting and reflection this year, we have cause to welcome the occasion in hope. The battle waged against terrorists who falsely masquerade under the name of Islam is approaching its conclusion. The fight has been long and hard. Final victory is within sight. Boko Haram and its offshoots’ final embers are now fading.
“Last month, the leader of ISWAP was killed in an airstrike. Since the New Year, thousands of fighters have surrendered to enter rehabilitation programmes. The territories they used to occupy are now seeing the return of those who were forced to flee their barbarity. Normality is finally beginning to return to the Northeast. It is a long process. Yet it is one we are, together, now embarking upon.”
The president further stated that with the designation of bandit groups as terrorists, the challenges of banditry and kidnapping are being tackled differently in the North-western and North Central states where the latest military acquisitions and the Armed Forces are being deployed across the region to thwart acts of terror.
He said the administration was equally getting impressive reports of the special operations to curb crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering in the South-South, with millions of illegally refined products being impounded and illegal refineries destroyed.
The president lamented that while the government was making progress in cleaning the environment, some evil people were busy polluting and destroying it through illegal oil bunkering.
Speaking on the rise in criminal attacks targeting law enforcement agencies and public facilities in the South East, he said ongoing military operations to rid the region of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) elements had, in recent weeks, led to the overrunning of IPOB/ESN bases, the seizure of weapons and the arrest of a large number of suspects, even as approved the establishment of a Naval Base in Oguta, Imo State.
He went on list other achievements: “The reinvigoration of the war against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking is also showing positive results as shown by the arrest of over 12, 300 offenders, including seven drug barons; the conviction of 1,400.
Counselling and rehabilitation of about 8,000 drug users; the seizure of over 3.4 million kilogrammes of drugs and cash worth over N130 billion, all in 2021, have been recorded while the first quarter of this year has seen the arrest of no fewer than 3,536 offenders, including security personnel and a well-known billionaire drug baron. The seizure of more than 65,000 tonnes of assorted drugs in this period sets a record for the nation.’’
And to serve as motivation, according to the statement, President Buhari granted approvals for the promotion of more than 3,500 officers, the procurement of operational equipment, training for personnel and buildings for residential barracks for the concerned agency.
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The president also directed increased coordination and cooperation among security agencies, saying that an end has been brought to the solo approach among the agencies, even as he gave assurance that there will be no shortage of funds to provide security for the citizens.
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