Buhari meets monarchs, vows to be ‘harder’ on criminals

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met with the members of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Council is co-chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, who disclosed this in a statement, said some of the traditional rulers at the meeting were the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe; Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar; King Jaja of Opobo, Dr. Dandeson Jaja; Emir of Bauchi, Dr. Rilwanu Adamu; Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Muhammad Iliyasu; and the Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi.

Also at the meeting were the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd), the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu; the Director-General of Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, and the Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufa’i.

President Buhari said the security chiefs have received marching orders to go harder on criminals, including shooting anyone found to be in illegal possession of AK-47.

He stressed that his administration had recorded appreciable successes in the North-East and South-South parts of the country.

Buhari said: ‘‘But what surprises me is what is happening now in the North-West where the same people, with the same culture, are killing each other, taking their livestock and burning properties.

‘‘As a result of that, we had a four-hour meeting of the National Security Council attended by the Ministers of Internal Affairs, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Service Chiefs, Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police and others and we gave clear instructions.

READ ALSO: Presidency releases video of Buhari’s directive on AK-47 holders

‘‘One thing that got to the press, which I read myself, was that anyone with an AK-47 will be shot.

‘‘This is because AK-47 is supposed to be registered and it is only given to security officials.

‘‘We closed the borders for some years, but the intelligence report I’m getting on a daily basis is that those who are conducting the abductions, the killings and so on are still not short of arms and ammunition.”

He expressed dismay over attacks on police stations and killings of security personnel by criminals and warned that “no serious investor would put his money in a country that is unsafe.”

President Buhari also stressed the need for traditional rulers to use their roles and positions as bridge builders in each of their communities to complement government efforts at ensuring peace and security.

He appealed to the traditional leaders to deploy their reach and influence in the best interest of assisting the government to “root out those whose sole objective was to cause trouble and destroy livelihoods and families across the nation.”

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