Nigeria is very safe ,all security challenges surmounted - Osibanjo, Minister

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigeria was very safe just as he said that he believed in the concept of the security agencies.

Speaking after his meeting with Security chiefs yesterday,Osinbajo who fielded questions from State House correspondents at the end of the meeting said he would place a phone to the president to also brief him on the outcome of the meeting. When told Nigerians would insinuate that receiving security briefings might mean that the president might not come back soon,he said:

“No no no! Almost every month, these briefings are held. It is routine and it is the president who puts in place this whole idea of regular briefing. It is even more important that we do so because of some of the issues arising; like the cases of kidnappings and I wanted the IG to inform us fully. Besides, the President is a process person and certainly, I am going to speak with him here on developments here. So it is not an indication of anything. It is only an indication that we are committed ‎to the security of the nation. “The primary duty of government is to ensure lives and properties and that is why we have to be regularly briefed. ‎The good thing is that our men are going extraordinarily well in the north east and that Southern Kaduna has also been contained. The peace building process is also going on very well.” 

Asked whether Nigerians should expect the end of Boko Haram any time soon, the Acting President said terrorism wasn’t a done deal.

 “As you know the Boko Haram as a military force has been degraded. They are not holding territory at the moment. Our armed forces have been able to dislodge them from practically all territories they were holding in the past. What is happening now is just once-in-a-while-attacks by suicide bombers. “By the nature of asymmetric warfare we are not able to say it has ended now. But I think that militarily, they have been contained. There is no question at all that Boko Haram as a fighting force has been degraded. “We are still vigilant because of their capacity to do damage with suicide bombers. I am very satisfied with what the military has done so far.‎ And the briefing has shown graphically that they are really on top of their game and that they are doing excellently well in the north east”, Osinbajo said. 

Also speaking, the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali said that most of the security issues were thrashed out at the meeting, saying that Nigeria was safe now.

 “We have trashed most of the security issues that concern the country at the meeting including the Southern Kaduna and the North East and other parts of the country. “Nigeria is very safe and I believe with the concept of the security agencies, all the security challenges have been surmounted”, he said