Northern elders have alleged a failure of Nigeria’s intelligence network and called for the review of security architecture and the immediate sack of the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd) following Tuesday morning’s attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna, by bandits.
The group under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CNEPD), in the statement by its national coordinator, Engr. Zana Goni, while blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for leaving Monguno behind at the time he replaced service chiefs, expressed unflinching support to the President and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
‘’The the deteriorating security situation, according to the Coalition, is a sign that Monguno, who manages the nation’s security, is not on top of his game’’.
The statement criticised stakeholders in the region over their alleged “long silence in the face of unbearable criminal acts by armed herdsmen and insecurity across the country ‘thereby giving a bad image of the region.”
“We find it once more expedient to comment on the worsening security situation in the country, especially the latest attack on a military formation, the Nigerian Defence Academy, which is the institution where future military leaders are trained.
“The fact that a fortified military institution could be so easily invaded by armed militias without resistance has left us with the conclusion that no part of this country and no citizen, no matter his or status, is safe again.
“Without mincing words, we wish to attribute this ugly development to intelligence failure and gaps in the capacity of our armed forces. We wish to strongly say here that the attack is a slap on the Nigeria intelligence community and the armed forces.
“The retention of the National Security Adviser, General Babagana Monguno, at the time the president listened to the voice of reason and replaced service chiefs, may contribute to the continuously deteriorating security situation in the Country.
‘‘As Northern elders, we have found it very important to call on President Buhari to remove the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd), whose office and responsibilities are critical to the achievement of comprehensive security all over the country but hasn’t used the high esteem of his office in any productive ways since his appointment as NSA.
‘‘The reason for this call is not farfetched. We believe that Major-Gen Monguno was part of the gross failure associated with the tenure of the former security chiefs and his continued presence in office will make the success Buhari intended to achieve with the changes very difficult, if not completely impossible.”
The Nigerian Army had earlier confirmed the killing of two of its officers and abduction of a senior officer at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Afaka, Kaduna State,
The deteriorating security situation, according to the Coalition, is a sign that Monguno, who manages the nation’s security was not on top of his game and therefore insisted that it was time for the President to do away with Monguno following the worsening insecurity in the Country.
