… Nyako, Media Cautioned
BEVERLY HILLS, CA, April 24, (THEWILL) – An enlarged Council of State on Security, comprising of President Goodluck Jonathan, the 36 state governors, top security chiefs and the leaders of the Christian and Muslim faiths met at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Thursday.
The meeting, THEWILL gathered from knowledgeable sources, discussed the growing insecurity in the country, especially the Boko Haram insurgency.
The meeting which started around 12.04pm with the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Ayo Oritsejafor and the Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar III, also in attendance resolved, among others, to engage the military in the search for the abducted female students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.
The girls (about 230 in number) were abducted over a week ago by Boko Haram gunmen and are believed to be holed up in the notorious stronghold of the insurgents in the Sambisa Forest.
THEWILL further gathered that the meeting which was coordinated by the Chief of Staff to the President, Retired Brigadier General James Oladehinde Arogbofa, had in attendance Governors Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Willie Obiano (Anambra), Theodore Orji (Abia), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) and Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi) AbdulFatai Ahmed (Kwara), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Liyel Imoke (Cross Rivers) and Ramalan Yero (Kaduna).
Others present were Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa), Saidu Dakingari (Kebbi), Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe) Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), and Idris Wada (Kogi).
Taraba State was represented by the acting governor, Umar Garba, while Oyo, Kano, Rivers, Imo, Edo, Yobe, Ogun, Plateau and Jigawa States were represented by their deputy governors.
Also at the meeting were Vice President Namadi Sambo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim; Service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar; the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki and the Minister of Defence, Aliyu Gusau.
The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Osita Chidoka; Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Inde Abdullahi: Heads of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and Nigeria Immigration Service were also present at the meeting.
Sources at the meeting told THEWILL that the controversial memo by Governor, Mortal Nyack, alleging genocide in the North-east against the federal government, was unanimously condemned at enlarged national security meeting.
Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting which went on for about 7 hours, Governor Babangida Aliyu confirmed that the memo was read and deliberated upon extensively.
He said attendees cautioned against careless and unguarded statements that could give the terrorists the momentum that they have been pursuing with their dastardly actions. He also added that the media must also be cautious in its reporting of the actions of terrorists.
He added that the meeting also further encouraged the counter measures being taken by Nigeria and its neighbours to crush the terrorists while it also backed the military in its counter operations.
About the Author
