The federal government has assured Nigerians that terrorists and bandits and their cohorts will never again hold sway in Nigeria.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this at a joint press conference on security in Abuja on Monday, said as far as the "daunting security challenges we face are concerned, we can tell you that the worst is over."
He noted that the issue of security has dominated national discourse in recent times, against the backdrop of the terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping in the North-East, North-West and North Central; separatist violence and crude oil theft in the South-East and South-South as well as cultism, armed robbery, and sundry crimes in the South-West.
Alhaji Mohammed, however, said that "while we may not be there yet, our military and other security agencies have succeeded - and are succeeding - in substantially restoring security across the nation."
He said whereas in conventional warfare, the parties can declare a truce or cessation of hostilities, upon reaching an agreement, it is not the same as the kind of unconventional warfare that Nigeria's military has been fighting in recent years.
"We are therefore not saying the battle is over. No. What we are saying is that our military and other security agents have been able to contain the daunting security challenges we face, and that the worst is indeed over.
"We have now put the terrorists, bandits and their ilk on the run and we will not relent until they have been crushed," he added.
Mohammed said the security challenges faced by the current administration, have been daunting - from terrorism to banditry to kidnapping to separatist violence to crude oil theft to armed robbery and sundry crimes.
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He said it's undoubtedly the greatest challenge to the peace and security of our great nation since the civil war from 1967 to 1970.
The Minister continued: "It is the kind of challenge that would have overwhelmed many nations. But thanks to the purposeful leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, we can say, I want to repeat, that the worst is over and peace and security are gradually returning to the land.
"Please don't misunderstand or misrepresent this assertion. We may still witness isolated cases of security challenges here and there, but it will not be on the scale that we have witnessed in the past."
Ministers and dignitaries present during the press conference included the Minister of Defence Bashir Magashi, Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Police Affairs Maigari Dingyadi, Chief of Defence Staff Lucky Irabor, Comptroller-General of Immigration, Isah Jere, Comptroller Fire Service Abdulganiyu Jaji, and representative of the IG, DIG Finance and Admin Sanusi Lemu.
