THE Federal Government yesterday ruled out engaging mercenaries to assist Nigeria in the fight against insurgency, which has continued for more than a decade.
It also vowed to come out in full force to fight insurgency in the country, saying it could no longer tolerate blackmail in any guise.
Government’s declaration came on the heels of repeated calls by governors of the North-East states, led by Borno State governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and other stakeholders that mercenaries be engaged to help defeat Boko Haram.
This came on a day Niger State Government shut all public secondary schools in the state for two weeks, following incessant attacks by bandits.
This is even as bandits who abducted 19 persons at Kutunku village in Wushishi Local Government Area of Niger State Monday, demanded N200 million ransom Wednesday night to free their captives
Bandits also went wild in Kaduna, killing seven persons, injuring several others, destroying properties and rustling cattle in Igabi, Giwa and Chikun Local Government Areas.
Addressing journalists at the weekly presidential media briefing at the Council Chamber of State House, Abuja, yesterday, National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno, retd, who said the current service chiefs will deploy all necessary force to deal with terrorists and bandits operating in the country, also said dialogue with them suggests weakness and incapacity on the part of government.
He said: “The President’s view and directive is that we will not engage mercenaries. When this administration came in, it’s true, we had these mercenaries helping out in the North-East. But the directive of the Commander-in-Chief is that we do not engage mercenaries when we have our own people to deal with this problem.
“This is basically a presidential directive. And there are so many issues when you come to the issue of mercenaries. It has to do with the issue of national pride also. I know you’d say can pride be more of a concern than our security? I do understand that.
“But what we are looking at here is that we have the resources, it’s just misapplication or under-utilisation that has affected our ability to deal with these people.”
The NSA said the government will not succumb to blackmail and the use of criminals by proxies to harass innocent citizens.
“While government is not averse to talking with these entities, it also has to fully apply its weight. You can’t (negotiate) with people who are unreliable and who will continue to hurt society. We will apply the full weight of government to deal with these criminals.
“These are not people looking for anything that is genuine or legitimate, they’re just out to take calculated measures to inflict pain and violence on innocent people. We must deal with them the way they need to be dealt with. We will fully assert the government’s will.
“We are also focusing on the associated dimensions of banditry and terrorism: Illegal drugs, the flow of small arms and light weapons, and illegal mining in places like Zamfara. These are some of the scenarios fueling the violence and we are already tackling them decisively.
“Government wants to use military assets to eliminate them but if along the line, they come out, good. It paints the picture of weakness, incapacity,’’ he added.
The NSA also disclosed that between March and December 2020, the military successfully took out 2,403 insurgents in the North East.
Source: Vanguard
