The National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azazi, on Tuesday said Nigeria was not prepared for the spate of bomb explosions rocking some parts of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory.
Azazi said this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of an emergency Council of State meeting convened by President Goodluck Jonathan in the wake of the recent bombing of the United Nations Building in Abuja.
The meeting centred on the security challenges across the country; the award of national honour; the appointment of chairman and commissioners for the National Population Commission as well as the reconstitution of the Committee on Prerogative of Mercy.
The NSA added that although there were different claims on those behind the bombings, he admitted that the country was currently facing security challenges that were relatively new to the nation.
The NSA said the police would soon reveal the names of those who died as well as those that were arrested in connection with the UN building bombing.
He said, “We do not want the people of the country to feel so unsafe. These problems of religious sects and all that could have started over 15 years ago and they have escalated up to this point.
“The problem is that we are not prepared as a nation for this new level of terrorism. The buildings and public facilities we have were not prepared for that.
“When these things happened, there are a lot of devastations. All over the world especially after the 911 and the July bombing in London, public facilities have improved. There are restricted accesses.
“But here, we don’t have that. To solve crime, sometimes you need a national identity database, we don’t have that. We are trying to put that together.
“We are trying to put in place a strategy on protection of critical national infrastructure.”
Azazi said the security challenges were not expected to fade overnight.
He said although it was always difficult to completely eliminate terrorism, a lot of works were being done to gain the confidence of Nigerians and meet their aspirations.
He said the council agreed on “the need to rejig the security architecture,” the use of technology, improved border control and tightening security in the maritime sector.
The NSA was joined at the briefing by the Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State; Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State and Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAzazi said this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of an emergency Council of State meeting convened by President Goodluck Jonathan in the wake of the recent bombing of the United Nations Building in Abuja.
The meeting centred on the security challenges across the country; the award of national honour; the appointment of chairman and commissioners for the National Population Commission as well as the reconstitution of the Committee on Prerogative of Mercy.
The NSA added that although there were different claims on those behind the bombings, he admitted that the country was currently facing security challenges that were relatively new to the nation.
The NSA said the police would soon reveal the names of those who died as well as those that were arrested in connection with the UN building bombing.
He said, “We do not want the people of the country to feel so unsafe. These problems of religious sects and all that could have started over 15 years ago and they have escalated up to this point.
“The problem is that we are not prepared as a nation for this new level of terrorism. The buildings and public facilities we have were not prepared for that.
“When these things happened, there are a lot of devastations. All over the world especially after the 911 and the July bombing in London, public facilities have improved. There are restricted accesses.
“But here, we don’t have that. To solve crime, sometimes you need a national identity database, we don’t have that. We are trying to put that together.
“We are trying to put in place a strategy on protection of critical national infrastructure.”
Azazi said the security challenges were not expected to fade overnight.
He said although it was always difficult to completely eliminate terrorism, a lot of works were being done to gain the confidence of Nigerians and meet their aspirations.
He said the council agreed on “the need to rejig the security architecture,” the use of technology, improved border control and tightening security in the maritime sector.
The NSA was joined at the briefing by the Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State; Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State and Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State.
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