President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration would deal with those profiting from the high level of insecurity in the country.
Buhari spoke at the Passing Out Parade of the Regular Course 4/2016 Cadets of the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, on Thursday, according to a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu.
“We will continue to demonstrate zero tolerance for crime and criminality. Those who take laws into their hands, who bear arms illegally and who seek to profit from a climate of fear and insecurity will be decisively dealt with. That remains our promise to the people of Nigeria, who elected us to keep them safe and secured,” Buhari said.
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Buhari said security, the economy and the war on corruption have received significant attention from his administration, resulting in measurable results.
According to him, the Boko Haram insurgency, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Eastern Security Network (ESN), and banditry in some parts of the country, which posed a potent threats to the country, have been significantly degraded and relative normalcy had returned to most towns and villages.
“Across the North-Central and North-West of the country, we have made progress with regards to stemming the tide of communal violence, farmer-herdsmen clashes, cattle rustling, and kidnapping,” he said.
The President stressed that more efforts would be made to ensure that normalcy returns to all conflict zones in the country.
He also urged newly inducted officers of the Nigeria Police Force to defend citizens against those causing problems in the country.
According to him, his administration is working to place the Nigerian Police Force “amongst the most efficient security organisations in the world”.
“The peace and stability of our dear country will continue to be of utmost importance. You, the police, are our point men and you must rise to the occasion.
“The graduating cadets will be taking their place in the Nigeria Police Force that is destined and determined to take its place amongst the most efficient security organizations in the world. This is apparent in the excellent and fruitful contributions of the Nigeria Police force in foreign peacekeeping missions.
“Many of the enemies you will confront will be permanently faceless or concealed, leveraging technology to wage warfare that has the potential to be even more destructive than anything the world has ever known.
“We must develop a policy on cyber warfare that has as its strategic focus on the prevention of cyber-attacks against critical national infrastructure, minimizing national vulnerability to cyber-attacks and minimizing damage and recovery time from cyber-attacks,” he said.
While also congratulating the cadets for the successful completion of their training, Buhari pledged that his government would try to address the challenges facing the Academy by engaging relevant agencies to facilitate developmental plans.
“Adequate budgetary provision will be made to accommodate capital and recurrent expenditure as the welfare of staff and cadets remains among my government’s priorities.
“The successful completion of a rigorous and demanding course of this nature, no doubt, imbues today’s graduating cadets, with a sense of self-esteem and accomplishment,” he added.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M