Presidency celebrates ‘feats’ of security, intelligence agencies

The Presidency says that the security and intelligence agencies’ successes are worthy of commendation, as they have lately demonstrated “significant deftness, guile and secrecy” in carrying out their missions.

In a statement on Tuesday, the president’s Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu, chronicled the recent ‘feats’ achieved by Nigeria’s intelligence and security agencies, including the arrest and detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

“The violence inspired by IPOB has led to hundreds of fatalities, particularly targeted at government assets and law enforcement agents.

“Additionally, there have been at last count fifty separate violent attacks, heavily concentrated in the South-East, which heaped further hardship on our honest and hardworking citizens, preventing them from earning their livelihood and going about their normal lives.

“By this singular action of our security forces, sanity, calm and peace (have) been returned to our communities who (sic) previously lived in constant fear of these misguided elements,” he said.

Shehu also celebrated the raiding on Thursday July 1, 2021 of “the residence of a militant ethnic secessionist, who has also been conducting acts of terror and disturbing the peace under the guise of protecting fellow ‘kinsmen’ – in apparent reference to the early morning attack on the residence of Yoruba rights activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho).

This attack, Shehu said, was “in furtherance of (the State Security Service’s) continued diligent work.”

He said: “His (Igboho) seditious utterances and antics, which he is known to have publicly expressed, have overtime morphed into very hateful and vile-laden speeches.

“It must be highlighted that the government respects fundamental rights of citizens to express their views and recognizes this as a democratic tenet. However, any attempt to build an armoury coupled with plans, either subtle or expressed, to undermine our unity as a nation will not be condoned.”

“The successes of our Security Agencies must be commended as they have demonstrated significant deftness, guile and secrecy in carrying out these missions.

 “This level of professionalism must be sustained and brought to bear as we focus on extracting from our society those who have found a new trade in targeting students, rural dwellers and our citizens in the North-West.  The nation recognizes their efforts and sacrifice,” he added.