The Presidency has said the war against insurgency is being affected by shortage of personnel.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said this when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, yesterday.
The presidential spokesman also blamed the National Assembly for the shortage of funds affecting the fight against terrorism in the North East and also, decried lawmakers’ silence on the president’s request to withdraw $1 billion dollars from the Excess Crude Account, to purchase arms for the troops.
He said: “The Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) is doing “an exceedingly good job.
“The thing about law enforcement is that they are not present 24 hours of the day in all of these communities because of the inadequacy of their numbers,” he said.
Asked if the soldiers fighting terrorists in the North East have been instructed not to fire first unless being attacked, Shehu denied knowledge of it.
“Well, to the best of my knowledge, I am not aware there is a policy.
“And, I don’t think policy in that regard can be justified.”
He also praised the troops fighting bandits in Zamfara.
“The troops are flushing out the bandits and their informants
“I am appealing to religious and community leaders to cooperate with the security agencies by availing them of useful information.
On April 7, acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, disclosed to State House Correspondents, after a security meeting, that the licences of individuals and companies that disobey the directive to stop the activities would be revoked.