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President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians to remain calm as the government has taken precautionary measures to sustain the protection of their lives and property.
In a statement by the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, President Buhari says the recent changes in travel advice from the US and UK governments should not be a cause for panic.
The President stresses that Nigeria is no exception in having terror threats listed in foreign government’s travel advice to their citizens.
He notes that UK and US travel advisories also state there is a high likelihood of terror attacks in many Western European nations.
According to him, the UK and US advice to their respective citizens for travel to one another’s countries contain the same warning, and reminds Nigerians terror is a reality the world over.
The President however points out that the advisory does not mean an attack in Abuja is imminent.
He explains that since the July prison raid, security measures have been reinforced in and around the FCT, adding that heightened monitoring and interception of terrorist communications ensure potential threats are caught further upstream.
President Buhari says attacks are being foiled, emphasising that security agents are proactively rooting out threats to keep citizens safe, but that much of their work is unseen and necessarily confidential.
He says Nigerians’ safety remains the highest priority of the government, thus making security personnel to work around the clock to keep harm at bay.
“Security threats are real and have been with us for a long while, the nation’s military, the police and other security agencies have shown a capability to deal with it, as is evident from the fact that a majority of our partners, including the United Nations agencies in our midst have not seen the threat as being sufficient to warrant any form of panic or order citizen evacuations”, he emphasises.
The President stresses that that while being security conscious, being alert and careful is crucial, noting that responsible members of the society do not create situations leading to unnecessary panic.
He commends the military and other security agencies for the recent turn around in the nation’s security, and directs that additional precautionary measures be put in place to consolidate the gains made.
President Buhari expresses optimism that given the on-going efforts on the part of the military and other security and intelligence agencies with the active support of the civilian population, the nation will emerge victorious against the current challenges facing it.
Abdullah Bello
