Tag: NSA

  • Guber Election More Complicated Than Presidential – NSA

    Guber Election More Complicated Than Presidential – NSA

    The National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, has described the forthcoming governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections as complicated, adding that security agencies do not envisage violence.

    Monguno stated this on Tuesday at the meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security in Abuja.

    He stated that a lot of meetings had been ongoing, especially with the Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector of Police, which as a result, the security agencies do not foresee any form of violence.

    Monguno noted, “Of course, the elections on Saturday are going to be much more complicated, and contextually different. First of all, we are going to have 1021 constituencies which mean more people are interested, and more people to vote. Obviously, the dynamics would be much more different than the elections that were just concluded.

    “For the security agencies, I know a lot has been done. I have been talking with the Chief of Defence Staff, and with the Inspector General of Police, who is the head of the lead agency in the process of elections.

    “So far, so good, we do not envisage anything that is going to be terrible or apocalyptic in the next few days. But that does not mean that we should all do away with our state of readiness. We must comply with the rules. We must also allow everyone to exercise their fundamental rights as citizens of this country.”

    The NSA urged political parties and candidates to demonstrate high levels of discipline and maturity during and after the polls, advising them to call their supporters to order.

    “While commending the efforts of the various political parties and the individuals that participated in the last elections, especially those of them that called for peace and calm, I want to also urge same individuals, especially at the state level to demonstrate the same level of maturity, discipline by calling their supporters to conduct themselves in a manner that is congruent with the expectations of a larger Nigerian society. Of course, there are channels for laying and addressing complaints.

    “What we do not want to happen is for anybody to take the law into his or her own hands. We are going to give the maximum support to all entities involved in this process. And we are also calling on political parties to call their people to order.”

    In his remarks, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, advised political parties to caution their supporters, stating that the March 18 elections are a contest and not war.

    He urged the IGP to handle all cases of electoral offences as the commission looks forward to receiving the case files.

    Yakubu explained, “The governorship and state assembly elections this weekend involve more constituencies than the national elections held about three weeks ago. Unlike the last elections involving 470 constituencies (1 Presidential, 109 Senatorial Districts and 360 House of Representatives seats), the state elections will involve 1,021 constituencies (28 governorship and 993 State Assembly seats). There will also be more candidates involved and more collation centres to protect. There are also local elections involving keen contests.

    “It is therefore important for parties and candidates to speak to their agents and supporters to see the elections as a contest and not war. They should refrain from acts of violence that may mar the elections or compromise the security of our personnel, observers, the media and service providers.

    “The commission is encouraged by the directive to state commands by the Inspector General of Police to handle all cases of electoral offences expeditiously. We look forward to receiving the case files. We will immediately set up a legal team to handle such cases in earnest.”

  • 2023 Election Won’t Be Disrupted – NSA

    2023 Election Won’t Be Disrupted – NSA

    Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser (NSA) has reassured Nigerians that the forthcoming elections will be held in a secure atmosphere.

    Speaking during a meeting with Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, February 7, the NSA said the security agencies in the country have done a lot in the last couple of months to put things in place.

    He said;

    ?There?s a need for me to reassure citizens of this country that whatever fears they have, I want to dispel. The 2023 elections will go on in a climate devoid of rancor. The security agencies have done a lot in the last couple of months to put things in place.

    ?We know what we have done. We?re sure of what we have on the ground. All of us here who are the managers of securing the electoral process know our responsibilities and what we will do. But we need to let the entire country know that we see stories by agents of bad news on social media. If these things are intended to scare people, I want to dispel such illusions.

    ?Anybody that is concerned with carrying out his legitimate undertaking, casting his votes, will do so in a secure atmosphere. It is very important that Nigerians are not pushed to the limit where they will abandon their number one responsibility as citizens. I have confidence in security and intelligence agencies.

    ?The Nigeria Police Force is the lead agency and it has assured all of us repeatedly during meetings and I believe all other security agencies are up to the task. The remaining 17 days to the election will be a period of intensified activity between all of us.?

  • APC Senator Decries Worsening Insecurity, Asks NSA To Resign

    APC Senator Decries Worsening Insecurity, Asks NSA To Resign

    A senator elected on the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sani Musa, on Sunday called on Mr Babagana Monguno to resign as the National Security Adviser (NSA).

    Senator Musa who hails from Niger – one of the worst-hit states by terrorists’ activities – decried the worsening security situation in the country.

    He believes Monguno, a retired major general and former Chief of Defence Intelligence, has no reason to remain as the nation’s top security strategist with the continued killings of innocent people.

    “What proactive action has the NSA taken? We have to call a spade a spade. If I was the NSA in this country, I will tender my resignation because I have failed,” the lawmaker who represents Niger East senatorial district in the National Assembly said during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics in Abuja.

    “When they (terrorists) are creating cells, you do not wait until when you are attacked before acting. The intelligence that is being shared is a pre-information given to you at a stage where these culprits have not concluded their plans and you neutralise them. For me, I believe that we need to restrategise.”

    Armed non-state actors, including bandits and terrorists, have scaled up activities recently, extending their operations to attacks on security apparatus such as the correctional facility in Abuja and some security formations.

    One of such is the attack on troops of the Presidential Guards Brigade which provides security for the seat of power and the nation’s capital where some soldiers were reportedly killed.

    Amid the outcry over the deteriorating situation, Mr Monguno last week said the security agencies have adopted a new strategy to tackle the threat.

    But this is not enough for members of the opposition in the National Assembly who handed a two-week ultimatum to the President to resolve the nation’s security challenges and threatened to commence impeachment proceedings against him should he fail to act as demanded.

    Although Senator Musa said the government collectively should not be blamed for the current situation, he admitted that it has gone from bad to worse.

    “To say the issue of insecurity is disturbing is an understatement, Nigeria is a country that is evolving, and we have never seen it like this since after the civil war,” said the lawmaker.

    “We used to have armed forces that are reckoned; they have fought wars in other countries in order to bring peace to those countries but today, the whole thing is different.”

  • NSA Names Three Islamic Groups Supporting Terrorist Organisations

    NSA Names Three Islamic Groups Supporting Terrorist Organisations

    The National Security Adviser (NSA), Retired Major-General Babagana Monguno, has named three groups supporting terrorist organisations in the Sahel region.

    Monguno identified Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin, JNIM, Islamic and Muslim Support Group, and Islamic State in Greater Sahara, ISGS, as organizations behind terrorism in Nigeria and Africa.

    The retired Major General disclosed this while speaking at the 14th Workshop of the League of Ulamas, Preachers and Imams of Sahel countries in Abuja on Tuesday.

    According to Monguno: “Terrorism and the rapid escalation of violent activities by militant Islamist groups in the Sahel since 2016 have been primarily driven by the Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS), which mainly operates in Mali and extends to the Niger Republic and Burkina Faso.

    “It is bolstered by activities of groups such as Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM), the Islamic and Muslim Support Group (GSIM) and ISGS, which have continued to pose an imminent threat to the stability of the region.

    “In Nigeria, Boko-Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) dominate terrorist activities, especially in the North-Eastern part of the country.

    “The situation in the Sahel has never been grimmer, extremist violence continues to spread; the number of internally displaced persons (IDPS) is growing; and food insecurity is affecting more people than ever before.”

  • NSA, CBN, IGP, NIMASA Undermining Us — Reps

    NSA, CBN, IGP, NIMASA Undermining Us — Reps

    The House of Representatives says the refusal to appear before its committees by the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Inspector-General of Police, the NIMASA and other agencies invited is undermining its work.

    The house ad-hoc committee investigating the assessment and status of all recovered loots, movable and immovable assets from 2002 to 2020 said this at the resumed hearing.

    The chairman of the committee, Adejoro Adeogun, asked them to appear by Thursday.

    “You’re indirectly undermining the entire parliament, not just the House of Representatives, but the entire institution.

    “Otherwise, the parliament will invoke its powers to deal with them according to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

  • Money Meant for Arms Purchase Missing Under Buratai & Other Service Chiefs – NSA

    Money Meant for Arms Purchase Missing Under Buratai & Other Service Chiefs – NSA

    The National Security Adviser, NSA Babagana Monguno, has revealed that funds given to former service chiefs for arms purchase not be traced.

    On January 26, President Muhammadu Buhari removed the service chiefs in persons of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

    The president had immediately appointed their replacements in persons of Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral A. Z. Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff.

    But in an interview with the BBC Hausa on Friday morning, the NSA said neither the money approved by Mr Buhari for arm purchase nor arms was met on ground when the new service chiefs assumed office.

    Asked why the government is foot-dragging on fight against banditry, Mr Monguno said the president had done his best by approving huge amount of money for arm purchase but the equipment was not forthcoming.

    “Now that he (President Buhari) has brought new people (service chiefs), hopely they will device some ways… I’m not saying the former service chiefs diverted the money, but the money is missing. We don’t know how, and nobody knows for now,” he said.

    Asked whether the matter is investigated to trace the funds or the military hardwares, the NSA said the president would investigate the matter.

    “The President will surely probe this matter. As we speak, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum too is also wondering where all the money went. I can assure you the president takes issues of this nature seriously.

    “The fact is that preliminary investigation showed the funds are missing and the equipment is nowhere to be found.

    “When the new service chiefs assumed office, they also said they did see anything on ground,” said the NSA.

  • Insecurity: FG Will Not Be Blackmailed, No Dialogue With Bandits – NSA

    Insecurity: FG Will Not Be Blackmailed, No Dialogue With Bandits – NSA

    The National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno says the Federal Government will apply its full weight to deal with the criminals and will not be blackmailed by any group of people into negotiating with those who threaten the nation’s peace.

    The NSA who spoke on Thursday at a State House briefing in Aso Villa, Abuja, said the present administration is not interested in negotiation with bandits, terrorists, and other criminal elements terrorizing the country.

    He argued that dialoguing with insurgents paints the government as weak and incapable.

    “The government is tackling the problem of insecurity, we’ve said this many times that there are two phases in solving this problem –the soft approach: talking, negotiating, and so on and so forth.

    “While the government is not averse to talking to these entities, these human beings, I have to be very honest, the government has to apply its weight, that force that is required because you can’t even talk with people who are unreliable people, who will turn out to do a different thing and people who will continue to hurt society.

    “So, basically, what the government wants to rely upon is to deal with this issue by using all the assets – military assets, intelligence assets to eliminate these people,” the NSA said.

    He added that “If along the line, some of them are ready to come out and talk and negotiate, when the time comes, we will do that but for now, we can’t keep on dwelling on ‘Let’s dialogue’.

    “Psychologically, it is not even good for us, it paints the picture of weakness, it paints the picture of incapacity and I, just like the governor of Kaduna State said, do not see any reason why we cannot, with what we have, deal with these elements.

    “These are not people who are looking for anything that is genuine (or) legitimate; these are people who are just out to perform atrocities, to take calculated measures to inflict pain, violence on people.

    “At the slightest opportunity, they go haywire. And so, it is important for us to realize that we are dealing with people who are not looking for anything, people who without provocation will give birth to their homicidal instincts. We must deal with them the way they have to be dealt with.”

    Monguno said further that Nigeria is faced with a new type of (asymmetrical) war, adding that issues of a gross deficiency in equipment and lack of personnel have played a part in the way things are at the moment.

    He, however, believes that the change of security chiefs brings a ray of hope and will help fix all lapses that may exist.

  • NSA, governors meeting over security

    NSA, governors meeting over security

    He explained that the governors are going to work even closer with security forces in intelligence gathering and sharing.