Precisely three months into the state of emergency declared in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in May, the Federal Government on Wednesday described it as a “huge success’’.
The Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, said this in Abuja after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that the emergency rule had helped in the defence of the nation’s territorial integrity.
She said before the emergency rule that part of the nation was under threat as Boko Haram insurgents had almost succeeded in usurping powers from the authority of the Nigerian State.
“Today marks three months when Mr President declared the state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno. A lot has been achieved in three months.
“It has halted the threat to Nigeria’s unity as you know the unity of this country is paramount.
“Mr President as the leader of this country has ensured that the unity of this country is preserved and protected.
“It has also ensured the preservation of the territorial integrity of our country and prevented the usurpation of the authority of the Nigerian state.
“If you will recall, you heard that the insurgents are already hoisting their flags all over some of the areas, especially in Borno, they stopped at Bulabulin Nganaram and we thank God for that.
“Of course the high level of professionalism that has been displayed by our military and other security forces of the country most, especially when dealing with this kind of insurgency whereby we are actually fighting an internal war.
“We are at peace with our neighbours, but the problem is internal.
“And so we need to always observe the rules of engagement and also the respect for human rights and so on,’’ she said.
The minister said some members of the insurgents had been arrested and handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.
She said the Military Joint Task Force (JTF) had also demonstrated high level of professionalism in the operations.
Obada said a lot of dangerous ammunitions had been recovered from the insurgents and the civilian population had shown support in intelligence gathering.
“We have arrested some insurgents and they will be prosecuted in due course. We have recovered a lot of arms and ammunition which shouldn’t be in their hand.
“I believe you will realise that a lot of the civilians now are also providing assistance to the military and security agencies in identifying those who are behind these insurgency in their areas and really assisting and doing their best.
“Of course you also know we have these robust civilian military relations offices now in the Defence Headquarters and also in the Nigerian Army Headquarters.
Obada said the security challenge imposed by the insurgent had been a stumbling block for Nigeria to fly and take its rightful position in the comity of nations.
She said with the success of the emergency rule, investors were assured of the safety of their lives and investments.
The minister said the families of the security operatives who lost their lives during the operations were being taken care of
“If anybody dies in action, we accord them a very befitting funeral and we ensure all their entitlements that should go to their dependents, next of kin is taken care of I can assure you of that.
“You know the military prides itself on the quality of their officers and soldiers.
“I want to assure you that those are men who can lay down their lives for this country and so very good care is taken of them to see to their welfare.
“If anybody can be that courageous enough to say yes I will fight for my country then we cannot ignore them or ignore anything they require or need,’’ she said.
President Goodluck Jonathan had on May 14 declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa to restore public order, safety and security in that part of the Northern region.
The president, who made the proclamation in a nationwide broadcast, had said that he acted in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 305 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.
The president had accordingly, directed the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim, to immediately deploy more troops to the states for more effective internal security operations.
He also directed that the troops and other security agencies involved to take all necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the impunity of insurgents in the states.
