ABUJA—IN the wake of mounting threats of bomb attacks in the country by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, the Federal Government Wednesday maintained that it is able to contain the threats because Nigeria’s security agencies are some of the best in the world.Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who was reacting to insinuations that government was losing the war against terror, told newsmen that several covert measures against the terrorists have been successful without making too much noise about them.
He said: “A lot is going on, deployments are being made, arrests are being made, and there is a man hunt for all those involved. So, if the President calls on Nigerians to pray, it is not because actions are not taking place but the truth of the matter is that we also need prayers. Everything is being done to bring this dispensation we have come into under control.”
Asked if the President was losing the fight against Boko Haram and how long Nigerians will continue in this condition, Maku said: “Let me say it very clearly here that sometimes, we pick comments out of context. The President is the Commander-in-Chief and President of Nigeria, the chief security officer of this federation.
All of us in this hall should be familiar with the fact that in the last couple of months since the president was sworn in, in May, nothing has taken the attention of government more than the issue of insecurity in the country. That is brought about mainly by anti-state groups that have continued to attack innocent citizens.”
Maku pointed out that “almost every week the President has held meetings with security chiefs. And let me also say here that the recent attack in Yobe and Borno, the NSA (National Security Adviser) addressed the press and as at yesterday, not only has there been counter offensive but that arrests have been made and those under arrest are in detention for proper investigation. This also has been made available by the security agencies to the media.”
He said: “There have been ongoing security operations in the North-East, particularly in Borno and surrounding states. Also in Yobe, there have been security deployments, this also has been done and the media is also aware of these developments.