We have fresh strategies of fighting insurgency, banditry — Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said with the new service chiefs in place, the federal government has developed “fresh set of eyes, intellect, skills and a fresh look at strategies” against the insurgency, banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria. Osinbajo said this at Ikenne, Ogun State, on Tuesday, shortly after he participated in the All Progressives […]

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said with the new service chiefs in place, the federal government has developed “fresh set of eyes, intellect, skills and a fresh look at strategies” against the insurgency, banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria.

Osinbajo said this at Ikenne, Ogun State, on Tuesday, shortly after he participated in the All Progressives Congress (APC) revalidation and registration exercise.

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The vice president who appealed to Nigerians to resist any attempt to destroy the unity that people had lived and worked together for, said security challenges currently confronting the country were not insurmountable.

He said, “We are in government at one of the most challenging times in history. The pandemic has made matters worse, and we have also had security challenges that have stretched our law enforcement capacities all over the country.

“What we must ensure is prosecution of all those who have been arrested for kidnapping, banditry and all other forms of criminalities. There must be evidence that justice is being done. This is achievable by stronger collaboration between the police, state Ministries of Justice and the Federal Ministry of Justice.

“With the new service chiefs, we have a fresh set of eyes, intellect, skills and a fresh look at strategies against the insurgency in the North East, as well as banditry and kidnapping elsewhere.

“In this new approach, much greater emphasis is being placed on technology for surveillance, intelligence gathering and attack.”

Osinbajo stressed the need for state police structure, saying it was important to speed up and strengthen it, adding that states must continually train, educate and formalise their local security structures to complement the federal law enforcement agencies.