29 Afaka students release: Some Nigerians know bandits dens, nefarious activities - Aregbesola

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has accused some Nigerians of feigning ignorance of the dens of bandits and their nefarious activities in the country without volunteering information to the security agencies.

He said it is possible to take such a large number of students through a reasonably long distance on open trucks and motorcycles without anyone seeing them along the way and called on the security agencies to cultivate deep relationship with the people in their communities so that they can trust them with the vital information needed for securing the nation.

The Minister said “The criminals live in our homes, offices, farms, bushes and forests. They roam our streets and engage in day-to-day activities with us. On the surface, they are just as ordinary and uniform like the rest of us.

“I will find it difficult to believe that it is possible to take such a large number of students through a reasonably long distance on open trucks and motorcycles without anyone seeing them along the way.

“It will be hard also to believe that some other Nigerians are not aware of their dens and the nefarious activities going on there as we speak.”

The Minister stated this in Abuja yesterday at the
decorating ceremony of the Deputy Controllers General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) and the Deputy Commandant General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) with their new ranks.

He called on the officers to rise to the occasion as the country is in the throes of bandits, insurgents and other baddies, draining the nation’s resources and psychic energy.

According to him, the security agencies must rise to the plate and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in particular should maximise their grassroots penetration for intelligence gathering.

“It is important therefore that you cultivate deep relationship with the people in your communities so they can trust you with the vital information needed for securing the nation. We are at a point where we cannot but make a big difference”, Aregbesola charged the security Officers.

The Correctional Service, he said, has the additional mandate of preventing the current security challenges from getting into the custodial centres and observed that “a pattern has emerged of coordinated attack on our custodial centres, putting our collective safety into jeopardy.”

The Minister made reference to last week, when I declared the facilities red zones and gave the squadron commanders the marching order to defend them with all means necessary, and added “you have to put the fear of God into anyone that intends to violate any of our facilities from inside or outside”.

He charged the Officers to go beyond the routine and evolve efficient management of scarce resources through creativity and avoidance of waste, “keeping inmates appointments with courts or hospitals, professional integrity in avoiding compromise of any sort with inmates and deep commitment to the mandate to reform offenders in lawful custody”.

Aregbesola said that criminals will keep getting more sophisticated in order to be ahead of the security agencies, but in order to beat them, he urged the officers to be ahead of their game at all times.

He warned that “playing catch up with criminals can be deadly and very costly. Keeping out known and unknown criminals out of our borders is therefore an unfinished business. You cannot rest on your oars.

Given our present situation, the Correctional Service has the additional mandate of preventing the current security challenges from getting into our custodial centres”.

The Minister congratulated the promoted officers and pointed out that their promotion is a call to excellence and renaissance in all aspects of the services, stressing that he had no doubt that they fit the bill and will surpass all expectations.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Shuaib Belgore said the current security situation has necessitated increased vigilance by security operatives as well as the need for improved quality of security operations in Nigeria.

He urged the officers to ensure that Nigeria over comes the challenges of rising insecurity demonstrated by kidnapping, banditry, arson, herder-farmer conflicts and many more.

The promoted officers that were decorated are: DCG Tukur Ahmed Muhammed, DCG Ladipo Tunde Olatunbosun, DCG Nwakuche Sylvester Ndidi, all of the NSoC; DCG Haliru Abdul Mumini Ishaka, DCG Opara Anthonia Ifeoma, DCG Adepoju Carol Wura-Ola, DCG Wunti Sule, all of the NIS and DCG Yarima Aminu Bako of the NSCDC.