- He emphasized Nigeria’s significant role in the West Africa
Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa expressed deep concern over the escalating insecurity in Northern Nigeria, characterized by banditry, kidnapping, and other related crimes.
Speaking at the Institute of Development Research and Training at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, General Musa attributed the region’s security challenges to both external and internal factors, including the proliferation of small arms, political instability, and socio-economic issues such as poverty and inequality.
“Nigeria is of great socio-political importance to Africa and the world at large. Thus, the contemporary security situation in the country and the north is influenced by both external and internal factors,” he said.
He emphasized Nigeria’s significant role in the sub-region.
General Musa highlighted that the political crisis in Libya and other sub-Saharan countries has exacerbated insecurity in Northern Nigeria through the influx of small arms and light weapons via Chad and Niger.
He also pointed out that Nigeria’s extensive and porous borders with neighboring countries like Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and Benin facilitate the cross-border movement of criminal elements, including Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and armed militias.
“The common denominator in all these borders is their porous nature, which encourages cross-border movements of criminal elements,” he noted.
He further explained that cultural and tribal ties between Northern Nigeria and neighboring countries complicate efforts to control unauthorized cross-border movements.
Additionally, environmental changes such as increased desertification and the shrinking of Lake Chad have led to clashes over water and grazing areas, particularly in the North West and North Central regions.
“This has led to the quest for water and grazing areas, resulting in clashes and killings, especially across the North West and North Central regions of the country,” General Musa said.
Addressing the topic ‘Assessing the present security situation in Northern Nigeria,’ he identified other aggravating factors such as political instability, poor governance, infrastructure decay, and conflicts between indigenes and settlers.
“Economic issues like extreme poverty, corruption, and nepotism also contribute to the insecurity, alongside social issues such as illiteracy, ethnoreligious conflicts, hunger, and lack of social infrastructure.
“These issues have culminated in the emergence of terrorism, armed banditry, violent militias, kidnappings, and herders-farmers clashes among other security threats in Northern Nigeria,” he added.
General Musa also outlined the efforts of the Armed Forces to address these security challenges through both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches.
Military operations against terrorist groups and bandits have shown positive results, while civil-military cooperation and community engagement aim to win the hearts and minds of citizens.
“The kinetic efforts of troops in various joint and subsidiary operations have yielded positive results across the country,” he stated.
He cited the degradation of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in the North East and the reduction of armed banditry and kidnappings in the North West.