Presidency urges Nigerians to be proactive in fight against Boko Haram, bandits

The presidency on Friday urged Nigerians to be proactive in the ongoing fight against the Boko Haram insurgents and bandits in the country.

The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, made the call when he featured in a Channels Television programme, Politics Today.

He was reacting to the statement credited to the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on the Boko Haram insurgents’ invasion of the state.

Shehu expressed happiness at the governor’s proactiveness and urged communities to cooperate in order to tackle the menace.

He said: “For quite some time, people have been saying the North-East has become uncomfortable for the terrorists which is why they are drifting to other states.

“El-Rufai’s warning means they are being proactive and all resources will be mobilized in order to eliminate the menace. If every community in the country is also proactive, none of these problems will arise and the country would have moved past that.”

READ ALSO: Why Nigerian military can’t bomb bandits’ hideouts – Lai Mohammed

Shehu also spoke on the suspension of rail activities by the National Railway Corporation due to the backlash from families of people abducted by the terrorists during the March 28 attack on Abuja-Kaduna train.

He added: “There has been resistance from family members of captives which is expected. People are engaged with negotiations with the terrorists and the Federal Government is trying to secure the release of the captives.

“I can tell you that the Department of State Service (DSS) is involved in the negotiations and they don’t publicize their operations. I believe that there is some credibility with the terrorists in order to secure the release of the captives. Therein lies the crux of the matter.”

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