Buhari stresses need for synergy of forces to end insecurity
President Muhammadu Buhari (left); Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor and Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya during their visit to the president in Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO: NAN
*NSCDC readies female squad for national assignment
President Muhammadu Buhari has restated the need for synergy among the armed forces in the country, to quickly end the prevailing insecurity in the land.
Buhari spoke when he received the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Maj-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, who was formally presented to him by the Minister of Defence, Maj-Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd.), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Yahaya was named the new COAS after his predecessor, Lt-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, died in a plane crash, alongside 10 others, four months into the office.
“What really brought us to the Villa today (Monday) was to present the new Chief of Army Staff to Mr. President for his blessing and guidance to the new COAS, Maj-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, who was appointed about 11 days ago.
“The President received us, offered some advice on how we can go about doing this operation and the entire security of the country. We assured him that we would do our best to end insecurity in this country,” he told newsmen in Abuja yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has unveiled its new female squad to complement the efforts of other squads, especially in schools by protecting life and property.
Commandant-General of NSCDC, Dr. Ahmed Audi, described the squad as a child of necessity to meet growing security challenges and to cater for the recent government proposed ‘Safe School Initiative’.
Speaking at the public unveiling of the female squad yesterday in Abuja, Audi said the agency was bold to express readiness to confront kidnapping and other criminal activities within and around schools.
He said: “The quest for security stability in our country continues to remain a holy grail with a ceaseless and unabated case of banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, insurgency, terrorism among others. All these have continued to threaten our country’s cohesion, stability and territorial integrity.”
Calling on Nigerians not to doubt Buhari’s commitment to security, Audi told the squad to comply strictly with the rules of engagement based on universal best practices in any security operation they might be involved in either within or outside the country.
“I invite stakeholders in the sector to join us in proactively implementing measures and undertaking actions that will ultimately neutralise any form of aggression and provide assurance for public safety,” he added. Members of the female squad also expressed readiness for the assignment.
Source: guardian.ng
