Nigeria’s former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, has called on the Federal Government to declare a full-scale onslaught against bandits and insurgents unleashing violence across Nigeria.

According to him, no legal instruments indicate that Nigeria is at war.

“There are no legal instruments indicating that Nigeria is at war. There’s none; we’re only assuming that we are at war.

“Of course, there is a need to declare war in order to aggregate the elements of state power directly to the war effort,” the general said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.

Irabor stated that by declaring war, resources would be directly channeled toward tackling the perpetrators.

The former CDS said, “It will make a huge difference because resourcing, of course, will now be properly channelled, and then accountability frameworks can now be properly outlined in such a manner that we’re able to see results for some of the expenditures that we make.

“By the way, let me also say that it is not just the military line of operation. We’re talking about the aggregate of the deployment of the elements of state power beyond just military power that will help us.”

Funding Security

Irabor explained that maintaining security was expensive and, as such, requires adequate funding.

He, however, dismisses the perception that the Nigerian military is cashing in on insecurity in the country.

He noted that politicians’ actions and inactions contribute to insecurity in the country.

The former CDS, therefore, advised Nigerian leaders to avoid politicising security issues.

The general, who recently unveiled his book, ‘Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,’ advocated the use of government policies to address the risk factors for insecurity.

“So in my book, I have advocated for a pivoting away from the preponderance of military or, if you like, high power, to utilising other elements, which involve majorly government policies, among other things, that will help us.

“If we’re able to reduce the number of out-of-school children, those who are vulnerable to criminals to employ, those who do not have jobs, and so many other things, then of course we’ll be reducing those who, perhaps, the criminals want to recruit among other things,” he added.

Insecurity

Several states, especially in the northern parts of the country, have come under violent attacks by bandits, which have left scores of residents killed and property destroyed.

President Bola Tinubu, in his nationwide broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day anniversary, stated that peace had returned to the liberated communities in the North-East and North-West regions.

The President also said that the Nigerian military is winning the war against terrorism, a claim the opposition dismissed.

“Peace has returned to hundreds of our liberated communities in the North-West and North-East, and thousands of our people have returned safely to their homes.

“They are winning the war against terrorism, banditry, and other violent crimes. We see their victories in their blood and sweat to stamp out Boko Haram Terror in the North-East, IPOB/ESN terror in the South-East, and banditry and kidnapping,” Tinubu said. (CHANNELS)