The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has given firm assurances that the Federal Government will not allow a repeat of attacks on schools, saying security agencies are already acting on fresh intelligence gathered across high-risk areas.
Badaru, who spoke during an interview with the BBC Hausa Service monitored in Dutse, said operatives have been deployed to vulnerable communities to prevent further breaches. He noted that security agencies remain on heightened alert following recent incidents.
“Our intelligence personnel are everywhere, especially in places with high threat levels, gathering information for lasting solutions,” he said.
The minister dismissed suggestions that recent incidents point to a collapse of security, insisting the breaches are temporary. “We will not be taken unawares again. In recent days, there were some challenges. It is not a total security breakdown but some breaches which, by God’s grace, will be temporary,” he said.
Badaru said deep investigations had already been carried out on attacks recorded in Borno State, leading to corrective steps that communities can already feel. “In the last two months, there were attacks on some military camps. We conducted thorough investigations, identified the problems and took necessary action. Communities around those areas can testify that there have been no further attacks on our barracks, only a few ambushes, and even those have drastically reduced.”
He explained that school attacks had reduced in the Northwest over the past two years as a result of continuous security arrangements for education facilities. “There has been no record of school attacks or student kidnappings in the Northwest in two years. There was also a serious reduction in various forms of attacks.”
The minister described recent abductions from worship centres and schools as unexpected. “We are gathering useful information on what happened and how it happened,” he said.
Badaru also confirmed that an investigation is ongoing into reports that soldiers withdrew from a Kebbi school shortly before it was attacked. He added that anyone found culpable would face disciplinary action.
Responding to claims that insurgent groups such as Ansaru and Lakurawa had regained strength, he said the groups were now scattered and hiding in remote areas. “We are monitoring them closely and updating the nation regularly. We will finish them,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria’s security challenges should be understood within the wider turbulence in neighbouring countries. He also dismissed comments credited to former US President Donald Trump, saying America understands the complexity of guerrilla warfare. “The US faced similar challenges in Afghanistan. They know what it means,” he said.
Badaru added that a Nigerian delegation is already in the United States for talks and expressed confidence that pending issues would be resolved.
He concluded that Tinubu remains deeply concerned about abducted schoolchildren still in captivity and has ordered their safe rescue without delay.
