Prof. Kailani Muhammad, National Chairman of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), has declared that with adequate federal support, advanced technology, and proper equipment, the CJTF could eliminate banditry within one year.
Muhammad made the statement in Abuja on Saturday while receiving a Certificate of Partnership from Mr. Charles Omini, the Special Envoy and Ambassador to West Africa for the International Human Rights Protection Service/Forum, who also unveiled him as Chairman of the West African JTF. He insisted that the government must give the CJTF the necessary backing to demonstrate its capacity.
“Give the Civilian JTF the required support and see what we will do—we will crush them,” he said.
According to him, the locations of many criminal groups are already known.“If we truly mean business, we know where these people are. Even in the affected states, we know their hideouts,” he added. Muhammad also urged President Bola Tinubu to compel all service chiefs to sign a one-year performance undertaking in partnership with the CJTF to decisively tackle insecurity.“We are calling on Mr President to set a one-year timeline for all the security chiefs.
They should sign an undertaking that, in collaboration with us, they will end insecurity in Nigeria within a year,” he said.“And if they fail, they should resign. Others can be brought in to do the job. They should not be left unchecked; they must be kept on their toes.”
He said that the Federal Government should empower and support the CJTF necessary equipment and advanced technology to combat security challenges in the country.
“Our borders are very porous. And we know that there are about 2,000 inlets and exits around our country. So, we have already identified those routes.
“If the government can help us, we need to put CCTV as it’s obtained in Mexico now and America.
“So, these should be positioned 100 kilometres where you see the influx of these hoodlums, all these bandits coming, through intelligence. We have AI now,” Muhammad said.
Also speaking, Omini called for systematic approach and strategic collaboration among security agencies to combat insecurity confronting the country.
According to him, security is everyone’s business because we all yearn for a peaceful, safe environment. I have never seen one person winning or combating security.
“I think I will at this point call on the security heads at all levels to come up with very strong strategic collaborations and partnerships with the relevant agencies and organisations at all levels.
“Security is not what you handle by running on the street like a mad person. Security on its own has a strategic and systemic approach.
“You see, we find ourselves in a global and digital world. I will appeal at this point, the security agencies should engage more of advanced technology to combat these challenges.
“There is a whole lot of technological approach that if the different security agencies at all levels will come up with these approaches technologically, I think we should be able to solve security challenges confronting Nigeria.
“Another thing we have to do as a country, dialogue. We need to talk to our people. We need to know that if you destroy one, you are destroying everybody and you are destroying yourself.
“Those who are carrying arms, who are kidnapping, for how long are they going to do this? We are appealing to them, they are destroying our economy and they are destroying our government. So these killings must stop, this kidnapping must stop.
“Enough is enough and it is not something that government will do alone. So, the security agencies and the Nigerian government have to understand that there have to be strategic collaborations at all levels to make sure we wipe insecurity out of Nigeria.”
