The National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) has said that President Muhammadu Buhari never ordered the dismantling of all military checkpoints in the country.
His statement overrides the statement made by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Ismail Aliyu, who after a security meeting last month, announced that the president had ordered the dismantling of military roadblocks and directed the police to take over internal security.
Dasuki, who met top military and security chiefs in his office in Abuja yesterday clarified that the directive of the president was never a blanket order to remove all military checkpoints.
The NSA said military roadblocks in flashpoints would continue to be maintained while those in
relatively peaceful areas would be dismantled but soldiers would continue to be positioned in those areas while not blocking roads.
He said it was both conventional and the global practice for governments to increase security measures whenever insecurity is heightened and appealed to citizens to endure the temporary inconvenience the roadblocks may cause.
According to him, essential security checkpoints in vulnerable areas were a “necessary inconvenience” to ensure criminals and terrorists do not have easy passage.
He cited some arrests made recently including that of the mastermind of bomb attacks in some towns who were nabbed by Nigerian troops at such checkpoints.
While condemning the indiscriminate proliferation of security checkpoints by unauthorised bodies, he said: “We will continue to ensure that the necessary or essential security checkpoints are not avenues for extortion, indiscipline and other forms of corrupt practices that can exacerbate traffic flow and cause road accidents.”
He added that the government was deploying new sophisticated scanners and detectors in some areas to ease traffic and to identify movement of strange objects, concealed weapons and criminal suspects.
“With the effective use of technology, which minimises physical contact between security personnel and citizens, the time spent at designated security checkpoints will ultimately be reduced,” he said.
Dasuki added however that “whenever necessary, soldiers will mount their checkpoints to conduct security screening in emergency situations and for quick response”.
Despite the clarification on the reinstatement of military checkpoints in the country, an explosion was reported to have rocked the Kofare area of Yola, the Adamawa State capital yesterday, resulting in the injury of three persons.
Thursday’s, blast occurred barely one month after a another bombing rocked the city, killing many and injuring several others,
The blast happened close to a car repair workshop opposite the state headquarters of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) along Numan Road.
Eyewitnesses said four underage children were given the explosive to drop at a specific place in the Bachure suburb near the army barracks, which is mainly inhabited by retired military personnel.
Two of the young boys who were handed the explosive were arrested by the police and confessed that an unknown person had given them the device to drop at the targeted location. They were given N2,500 for the assignment.
The boys, aged between 9 and 15, further revealed that after collecting the container, it was too heavy for them to deliver to the suburb.
According to them, the boys were left with no option than to try to sell it to a garbage scavenger, who they ran into at the mechanic’s workshop nearby.
They claimed that the scavenger they approached refused to buy the container, saying that he does not buy anything under a certain weight.
It was while they boys were negotiating with the scavenger that the explosive in the container went off.
The said scavenger, who was injured by the blast and rushed to the hospital, is now said to be helping the police with their investigation.
The injured man explained that while he was negotiating with the boys, he noticed smoke billowing from the container, but before he could walk away, it went off shattering his legs and injuring two of boys who were carrying the explosive.
In the ensuing confusion following explosion, the other boys sneaked away from the scene of the blast.
The sound of the blast attracted the attention of officials of the FRSC to the scene.
The sector commander of FRSC, Mr. Luka Ikpi told journalists that when he heard the blast he ran out of his office to ascertain what had happened.
“One version suggested that it was a burst tyre since it was close to a mechanic’s workshop. But I insisted that my intelligence officers should go and confirm.
“On reaching there, it was discovered to be an explosive and the boys were arrested and brought here even before the arrival of anti-bomb squad from the state police command,” he stated.
When the anti-bomb squad and other security operatives arrived at the scene, many arrests were made, including those within the vicinity of the mechanic’s workshop.
All the suspects picked up in the area were taken to the state Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the police command in three Hilux trucks.
Meanwhile, in line with his commitment to slash government spending and entrench prudence in the system, the president was said to have rejected a proposal to purchase five new armoured Mercedes S-600 (V222) cars for his use at a cost of about N400 million.
The proposal for the purchase of the new cars was brought to Buhari’s attention by the Permanent Secretary in the State House, Mr. Nebolisa Emodi at a briefing on Wednesday.
Directing that the proposal to procure the cars be dropped, the president said there was no need for them since the ones he inherited from former President Goodluck Jonathan were good enough for him.
A presidency source said Buhari was said to have informed the permanent secretary, “I don’t need any new cars. The ones I’m using now are just fine.”
Buhari, however, welcomed other initiatives presented by Emodi to reduce the running cost of the State House and strengthen its finance and accounts and internal control mechanisms.
He advised the permanent secretary that greater effort must be made to capture all State House overheads within the approved federal budget to avoid the frequent recourse by past administrations to presidential intervention funds.
When contacted, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Mallam Garba Shehu confirmed that in keeping with his commitment to prudence in the management of national resources, Buhari will continue to use the cars left behind by his predecessor and has withheld approval for their replacement.
State House sources, who confided in THISDAY, said the proposal to procure the new cars was first presented to Jonathan before he left office.
But the former president directed that it be represented to Buhari for approval on his assumption of office since the cars would have been delivered some months after the May 29 handover date.
