But is a swift reaction, Presidency spokesman, Garba Shehu, said sack of service chiefs is not the solution to the security challenges.
The presidential media aide who appeared on Arise TV said: “The clamour for the sack is out of place considering that the President is not subject to the opinion of opposition political party which has clamoured for this all the time.
“It is entirely his (Buhari) determination; he decides who he keeps as his service chiefs and for how long.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has been under intense pressure from oppositions, lawmakers as well as civil society organisations to rejig the security architecture.
But Shehu said the appointment and sack of service chiefs were not tied to public demands.
“I am not aware that the tenure of service chiefs is subjected to any law or regulation that is clearly stated. They serve at the pleasure of the president and (if) the president is satisfied with their performance, he keeps them. The buck stops at his table —with due respect to the feelings of Nigerians.”
Massacre’ll continue until Buhari replaces service chiefs –North
Concerned stakeholders from northern states have warned that there may not be an end in sight if the current service chiefs remain in the saddle.
Specifically, they called on President Buhari to replace all of them without further delay to remediate the worsening security situation in the country, especially in the North.
Stakeholders who headed different groups and coalitions made the call at an emergency meeting in Kaduna.
Part of the 11-point communique read: “We say enough is enough of these killings of innocent and unarmed civilians in Borno State, brought about by the seeming inability of the nation’s troops stationed in the state to help avoid this kind of massive attacks and killings.
“We categorically call on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack the service chiefs for their inability to save the nation this tragically-embarrassing experience that has dire consequences to our international image.
“There is also the need for not just total overhaul of the security architecture in Borno but also the outdated intelligence-gathering method.
“It is our conviction that until a major paradigm shift in the security architecture is promptly applied by President Muhammadu Buhari, we will continue with this bad and alarming rounds of a tragic and embarrassing situation.
“The time to end this madness and now, the nation can’t afford to wait any longer.”
Resign if you can’t guarantee security, cleric tells president
Two clerics, Adewale Giwa and Pastor Ebenezer Ologunowa, have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to resign if he cannot guarantee security of lives of Nigerians.
Gia, senior pastor of Awaiting the Second Coming of Christ Ministry, Akure, Ondo State, however, urged Nigerians to stay strong despite the challenges confronting them, saying, “it’s unfortunate that we have a president who doesn’t listen to the yearnings of his people.”
He claimed the president’s highhandeness has brought setback to Nigeria in all ramifications.
“If they could kill a first class monarch in Ondo state, who is now safe in this country? If the wife of Ondo State Chief of staff could be kidnapped easily, who knows who is next? As of now, God is our security. Even Buhari is not safe in Aso rock because the citizens are not happy,” he added.
On his part, Pastor Ologunowa, who is the leader of Christ Sanctuary of Praise Gospel Church, Akure, said President Buhari should be honourable enough to resign if he cannot manage the nation’s security.
“They never promised us that our people will be killed like animals. Buhari’s sense of sight ought to have advised him to quit instead of staying in office without any meaningful contribution to the development of Nigeria,” he declared.
Military rues new ways to tackle insurgency
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, said Army would continue to explore new ways to stamp out all security threats across the country.
He made this known at a four-day media workshop organised by the Nigerian Army School of Public Relations, with the theme: “Supporting the Military: Panacea for Improved National Security.”
General Buratai who was represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division Maj.-Gen. Godwin Umelo, said effective synergy between the media and the military would foster success in the onerous task of building public confidence.
This year’s edition is geared towards building capacity and enhancing collaboration between security agencies and information managers of the Nigerian Army, commanding officers, defence correspondents and online media practitioners.
“It is only through effective synergy between the military, other security agencies and the media that we can collectively succeed in our onerous task of building public confidence and encouraging citizens to support our operations.
“It is through this kind of forum that we can foster the understanding of each other’s roles and, therefore, contribute meaningfully towards the desired synergy, cooperation and collaboration for the benefit of our society towards achieving peace, security and stability in our country.”