An Islamic human rights advocacy group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has urged security agencies to keep up the current tempo. The group observed that men of the Nigerian Army, the Police, and the Department of State Services have recently turned on the heat on insurgents, kidnappers, and other criminals, thereby putting them on the run.
This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday, 18th September 2022, by the director of the organization, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The statement reads:
“A new trend has emerged in Nigerian security architecture. We have observed the new energy and change of strategy in the campaigns conducted by men of the Nigerian Army, the Police, and the Department of State Services. They have recently turned on the heat on insurgents, kidnappers, and other criminals, thereby putting them on the run.
“We find it necessary to make our observation public given the tornado of criticisms directed at the Nigerian security agencies in the recent past. We expect those who lampooned the security agencies at that time to speak up now that the situation has improved. It is a moral obligation. Public analysts must not be selective if they want to be seen as objective.
“Recent reports confirm our findings that Nigerian security agencies have gained the upper hand against hitherto marauding criminals. Just two days ago, gallant men of the Nigerian Police rescued two female kidnap victims in Kaduna.
“Five days ago, exactly on 12th September 2022, police rescued three other kidnap victims and recovered stolen vehicles in the same Kaduna.
“Again, on 21st August 2022, another two victims were rescued in Zamfara by the police.
“In the same vein, troops have neutralized hundreds of insurgents and bandits in several parts of the North while the air force has turned life into hell and made it difficult for them to mobilize. Criminals who used to assemble openly for their nefarious activities have now been forced to take cover under the trees where ground troops smoke them.
“Gallant Nigerian soldiers have taken the battle to the hideouts of criminals, and they are getting results. This outcome has led to optimism among residents of Northern communities. The pressure is so much on the criminals that they are now surrendering in droves. No fewer than 24,000 terrorists have surrendered in the Northeast alone.
“Nigeria’s motor parks are now filled with people going by road to Abuja from Kaduna, from Abuja to Lagos, Lagos to Port Harcourt, etc. Our roads have become safe again courtesy of our gallant security agents.
“We will say it for the umpteenth time, Nigerians should desist from demarketing their country. We have no other. The same Nigeria that some unpatriotic elements are deriding has been so attractive to some British, Italian, and other foreigners that about 286 of them recently applied to naturalize and they became Nigerian citizens. We must not lose sight of the greatness of our country.
“MURIC gives kudos to our gallant troops. We salute men of the Nigeria Police and those of the Department of State Security (DSS) who feed others with intelligence upon which they build their onslaughts. We urge them all to sustain the tempo. We must give criminals no breathing space.”