Details have emerged from a closed-door meeting between security chiefs following President Bola Tinubu’s crackdown order on undemocratic protests.
The meeting, held at the Defence Headquarters, was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, and other heads of security agencies.
According to Gen. Musa, the military and security agencies are working together to identify and bring to justice those behind the call for regime change.
He said that the military is committed to protecting the country and its citizens, and will only take action against those who pose a threat to national security.
“I want to appreciate Nigerians for their understanding, for their commitment to upholding law and order.
“We have had issues in the past few days, but you can see that people have seen reason for us not to continue with the destruction, to stop the looting, to stop giving opportunities for others to subvert our nation and to destroy our nation.
“They have also seen reasons to join hands together with the security forces to make Nigeria better.
“We want to assure them we on this side that we are fully committed to Nigeria, we love the country, we are mindful of the fact that we have been equipped and so we are duty bound to protect the country.
“We are only after those that are against the states, not those that are innocent.
“So I want to make that very clear, and we will continue to work together as a team to support Mr President in achieving his mandate of peace and tranquility in our dear country, Nigeria,” he said.
On his part, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja said the army is committed to combating protests and riots.
“I checked the number of patrols that troops conduct, the number of ambushes that are undertaken on daily basis, the number of violent insurgents that have been eliminated, incapacitated, and other indices, and it has not dropped by whatever measure.
“Also, we have continued to expand the frontier of peace and security in Borno State.
“Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are being returned back to Kukawa and some other places as I speak to you, which are indices of return to peace and stability.
“So the troops are not relenting in their operational commitment in the field on our contingency plan in the event that the situation degenerates.
“I want to also assure you that our estimates looking into the future suggest that the situation will not degenerate, but we need cooperation of every stakeholder in Nigeria to achieve that,” he said.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla, and the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, also reiterated their commitment to ensuring safety and security in their respective domains.
The security chiefs called for collaboration and cooperation from all stakeholders to achieve national unity and cohesion. They said that the military is people-centric and not interested in harming innocent citizens, but will take action against those who cross the line.
The joint news conference was attended by various heads of security agencies, including the Inspector-General of Police and representatives from the Department of State Service, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
