The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar, said the military had substantially contained emerging banditry in some parts of the country in addition to the successes recorded in the fight against insurgency in the North East.
Abubakar, who was in Yola to celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir with officers and men of the Air Task Force, engaged in the fight against insurgency in the north east, said the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) would continue to motivate its personnel to boost their morale in the task of keeping Nigeria and the society safe.
“We are making progress and all hands most be on deck to address the challenges, particularly the new challenge of banditry,” he said.
According to him, the NAF has established the quick Response Units in some states to bring security closer to the people.
The CAS lauded Nigerians for their understanding and urged the public to do more in terms of volunteering timely relevant information to security agencies.
He noted that the provision of adequate and effective security information to relevant authorities was the obligation of all Nigerians.
“I want to emphasize that security is not just about security agencies; everybody has a role to play to ensure Nigeria is secured,” Abubakar said, while reiterating the commitment of NAF to ensuring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, former Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, has blamed politicians for for activities of bandits terrorising the country.
He claimed banditry and most insecurities occurring in the country were created by politicians.
“Banditry and insecurity are created by politicians and the politicians know who the bandits are. They know why these people are doing this.
“I want to appeal to our political class to have a change of heart and cooperate with security agencies to reduce criminality in the land.
“If the police are courageous enough to search houses and monitor activities of politicians, you will see what they will recover from them,” he said.
He said increased level of corruption and porous borders had also contributed in the ongoing security challenge as most arms were smuggled into the country through the borders.
Tsav therefore advised the Federal Government to embark on massive employment of security personnel as this would mop up most of the unemployed youths from the streets and reduce criminality in the country