Terror Alert: No Smoke Without Fire, Says Defence Minister

•Declares situation under control, asks US to pray, not scare Nigerians

•Lawmakers lament Abuja under serious tension, to probe terror threat

•Army insists fight against terrorism successful so far

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The Minister of Defence, Major Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd), yesterday, before the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, reacted to the terror alerts by foreign embassies, saying though there was no smoke without fire, the security situation in the country was under control and therefore, no cause for alarm.

He however, said what Nigeria needed at the moment from the United States government and other foreign countries were words of prayers and not issuance of security alerts, which had confused the citizens.

Magashi, who stated this during the ministry’s 2023 budget defence session, had respondedto a question asked by the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Babajimi Benson, on what the ministry was doing to contain the security alert recently issued by some foreign countries.

While noting that the terror alert had caused more public hysteria and scared Nigerians, the minister, however, assured them that the threat was not so dire, and that the government through its security and intelligence agencies was on top of the situation.

Magashi said: “Other countries are also willing to do same. If you remember, yesterday, the security council met and we discussed this threat and it was believed that we will not take it lightly. We tried to verify the source of the threat or the pronouncement made by the US government.

“We tried to identify countries that were also interested in the same remarks made by the US government and we are of the opinion that the best way to go about it was to continue and where possible, beef up security in Abuja and its contiguous states, that is Nassarawa, Niger and the rest of them.

“However, we believe that there is no smoke without fire and in that regard, we were able to subject the details to our intelligence organisations and they have provided answers to those areas, which the government in doubt and we realised that what we need is to be extra vigilant to prevent any activity of the bandits, from where the threat is likely, we will be able to provide enough forces that can neutralise those kinds of situations.

“I want to assure members that the government is on top of the situation. Based on security meeting and what we have on the ground, I think what we need is prayers from the United States, not giving us information that will make our citizens to be either confused or not being able to take appropriate action.

“And our minister of foreign affairs is taking that up to ensure that information of such nature is brought to the notice of the ministry before disseminating to the society. I think we are on top of the situation. The threat is not very dire and we are taking it lightly. We are doing all we can to ensure that peace and progress of Nigeria is maintained.”

Earlier, Benson told the minister that tension was brewing up in Abuja due to the security alerts, urging the Armed Forces of Nigeria to take note of it.

He advised them to effectively collaborate with sister security agencies to ensure that all security threats were completely neutralised and Nigerians could live peacefully.

The lawmaker assured that adequate fund will be allocated to the defence sector but within the limits of available resources, adding that they would thoroughly review their performance and painstakingly scrutinise the proposals in the 2023 budget before making  conclusions.

“For more than sixteen years, Nigeria has witnessed diverse and unprecedented level of insecurity in which the Armed Forces of Nigeria have been fully involved prompting the launch of about thirteen operations and four exercises as well as providing support for tackling several domestic security challenges.

“The House Committee on Defence is delighted with the successes recorded so far, especially, in the last five months. We acknowledge these robust achievements, which is a proof of the level of professionalism often displayed by our military in the discharge of their duties,” Benson said.

Also during the budget defence of the Nigerian Army, Chairman of the panel, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, while acknowledging the terror threat charged the army to put their boot on to defeat terrorism.

“As we sit here and deliberate on this budget proposals, Abuja is under serious tension following a security alert issued in certain quarters suggesting that terrorists may launch a major attack on the city. Recall that in response to this alert, some foreign embassies had ordered the evacuation of their nationals from Abuja.

“This is a matter that our security forces must thoroughly investigate. The Army must put enough boots on the ground to contain any security breaches in Abuja in the magnitude claimed by the aforementioned security alert.

“In doing so, the welfare of personnel should be given topmost priority and never be compromised. The committee is not unaware of the enormous challenges confronting the Army, especially, the main issue of inadequate funding. We are working on improving the funding amid the increasingly scarce resources available to our collective purse.

“We are well aware of the unstable state of the country’s revenue earnings today in the wake of the global economic meltdown that has caught up with Nigeria as with many countries. It means we have to earnestly think out of the box in our resource allocation management.”

In his response, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Farouk Yahaya, said since coming on board, his administration has recorded successes as more Boko Haram insurgents and kidnappers had been captured, adding the Army has developed processes and tactics to overwhelm enemies in kinetic and non-kenetic battles.

This, he said has also evolved strategies to win the heart and minds of the local population and safeguard nation’s integrity, prestige and honour.

He, therefore, urged the National Assembly to pass the Armed forces of Nigeria trust fund bill before the end of the 9th assembly, saying the passage would greatly assist the Nigerian army through improved funding.

The Army Chief also called for a review of the current envelope system, which he said led to inadequate funding of the Nigerian army, stressing that, the manpower requirements of the Nigerian army had increased to meet the expansion of the theater of operations of the army.