NSA, Service Chiefs, Northern Govs Meet Over Kidnapping

Against the backdrop of the rising cases of kidnapping and abduction in the country, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, has convened a meeting with the Northern Governors’ Forum and Service Chiefs, including the Inspector General of Police and the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The meeting which was held behind closed doors on Thursday in Abuja, lasted for over four hours and after the meeting, the chairman of the forum, Governor Inuwa Yahaya Of Gombe State, spoke on the outcome of the meeting.

He announced plans by the forum to consider alternative options to arrest the increasing insecurity in the north.

The governor added that the military will be supported in their non-kinetic approach to curtail insurgency.

“The essence of the meeting as you can see is between the governors and the service chiefs and the NSA.

“So, it relates to security and you know security is very critical, especially since there were the recent issues of kidnapping in the North-West and we are becoming so concerned that we need to discuss, review, and possibly take alternative options to what we have been doing before so that we can have a better result,” he said.

Last week, bandits abducted about 300 students from a school in Kuriga, a town in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

At a separate news conference, the military vowed to rescue all abducted victims.

On the abduction of internally displaced persons in Gamboru-Ngala in Borno State, the military explained that they went beyond the permissible distance from the camp.

Also, the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj-Gen Edward Buba, said the delay in reporting such incidents hampers quick response from security agencies and other responders.