Take Ownership Of Security Against Terrorists, CDS Tells Borno, Yobe Residents

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, has called for the support and cooperation of residents in Borno and Yobe states to take ownership of security against Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorists.

General Oluyede made the call on Wednesday during his operational visit to the command and control centre of Operation Hadin Kai Joint Taskforce Northeast following the triple suicide bomb attacks in Maiduguri, which claimed over 25 lives with several others sustaining various degrees of injuries.

The CDS who visited Maiduguri alongside the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Waidi Shaibu, noted that the military has been doing its very best to checkmate terrorist attacks recently and would continue to do that.

“This challenge is something that have been going all around for the past 15 years, or there about, and I want to put it out here clearly this afternoon, that for us to end this act of terrorism, the people of Borno State and Yobe state must take ownership of this problem, Because the bulk of the people perpetuating this heinous acts are from the states.

“They are our brothers, our sisters, our cousins, and we know them. I’ll give you an example. When we conducted a cordon and search after the attacks in Kukawa, two of the people who came to attack Kukawa, who were wounded inside that village, were living in the area before the attacks, meaning that people are complicit.

“Our people must resolve that this has to come to an end, and we must take ownership of this problem. That is my message to the people of Borno and Yobe State today.

LEADERSHIP recalls that the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu,  on Tuesday, while speaking with journalists during his visit to Maiduguri over the suicide bomb blasts, attributed the success of the triple bombings by Boko Haram in Maiduguri to the fact that the residents of the city had relaxed on their personal and community security measures.

“I have noticed that communities in Borno have been so used to this (suicide bombings), and they know how to protect themselves over the years since Boko Haram started, but I have noticed that everybody seems to have relaxed.

“We are dealing with dangerous criminals who think like criminals who try to look out for security loopholes from the police, other security agencies and the communities,” the IGP said.

He therefore urged the communities to intensify vigilance as the Eid al-Fitr celebration approaches, assuring that the police are stepping up patrols to nip such incidents in the bud.