Insurgency: Service chiefs complain of int’l dimension

• We’re working with N/Assembly — Buratai

The Service Chief yesterday told the House of Representatives Committee on Defence that there was an international dimension to the insurgency and other security challenges facing Nigeria.

They disclosed this at a close-door session with the committee.

The chairman of the committee, Babajimi Benson, told reporters that the service chiefs raised a lot of issues “that we must all sit down as Nigerians and discuss. One of them is that there is that there is probably an international dimension to what we see.

“There is ISIS, there is ISWAP. These are things that we need to discuss in a much classified manner. But what we want Nigerians to know is that we are committed to them 100 per cent, to see that we assist the military and the Armed Forced and ensuring that this matter is put to an end within the shortest possible time”.

Later in a chat with Daily Trust yesterday, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, said the service hiefs and the National Assembly had agreed to work together towards ending insecurity.

He said:

“You are very much aware of the hues and cries over insecurity across the country, the seemly resurgence of Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast, kidnappings and banditry in the North West, and some other criminal clashes, this calls for concern, everybody is concerned we too are concerned just like any other Nigerian.

“The government is very concerned and in their constitutional responsibilities, the National Assembly felt there was a need for us to interact, to meet and discuss these issues. Essentially, that’s why we are invited and we had very useful discussion on the security situation in the country, and of course the way forward.

“The most important thing is that there is an understanding for us to address the issues, one interesting thing is that we have always been proactive, we have always been pursuing the goal of ensuring security across the country.

“We’ve agreed to work together, based on understanding, and for them to give us the support we need towards the successful execution of our mandate, and to bring insecurity in the country to the barest minimum, this is the key issue we agreed to pursue.”