Former Senate Leader Ali Ndume has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to walk his talk on the declaration of emergency on security and carry out consistent clearance operations in Lake Chad, Sambisa Forest and the Mandera mountains to crush terrorists in their hideouts.
The senator representing Borno South made the call in a statement on Sunday amid outrage over last week’s killing of over 50 residents of Ngoshe, Gwoza Local Government, in Borno State, and the abduction of over one hundred women and children by Boko Haram.
Recall that the terror attack led to the death of some soldiers, the chief Imam of the town, and community elders.
Reacting, Ndume told the Nigerian military to launch consistent raids on terrorist safe havens in the North-East.
He also urged President Tinubu to cultivate regular briefings of Nigerians on his efforts to surmount banditry and insurgency in the three zones in the North.
He said, “Government should walk its talk on emergency by engaging in coordinated and sustainable attacks on the targets, especially in the North-East.
“They should carry out consistent clearance operations in Lake Chad, Sambisa Forest, and the Mandara because the recent attacks were well coordinated by the insurgents.
“For example, the Ngoshe massacre was carried out by the insurgents from the Mandara mountains, assisted by others from Sambisa and Lake Chad, using their known routes, including the Mandara mountains, Lake Chad, and Sambisa.
“Since the President has declared a state of emergency, he should have a situation room in his office in the Villa. He should use that to brief Nigerians directly. They want to hear from him from time to time.”
The former Senate Chief Whip also restated his call for the frontloading of budgets of the security agencies to fast-track procurement of arms and ammunition.
“The Nigerian Army budget is insignificant compared to what is in the budget; that’s less than 10 percent of the budget, and the Nigerian Army budget should be front-loaded,” he stated.