Tinubu has political will to fight terrorism – FG

 Says Nigeria confronting complex security challenges, not religious persecution

 Again, faults tagging of country on speculations of religious persecution

From Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Abuja

The Federal Government has said it has the political will to fight and end terrorism in Nigeria.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja yesterday.

Flanked by the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, as well as the cream of the president’s media team led by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the information minister reiterated that the United States of America’s designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) stemmed from a wrong perception and misrepresentation of the country’s security challenges.

“Our military and other security agencies are winning the war on terrorism, and the results in the past years and most especially in the last two years of President Tinubu’s leadership are real and remarkable.

“We have made stringent efforts in curtailing access to small arms and light weapons by non-state actors. Security agencies recovered and destroyed over 5,000 military-grade rifles and intercepted over 20 gun-running networks in the past months.

“The administration has made multi-million-dollar investments in modernised equipment for our security agencies and has increased the defence and security budget.

“The President has always given the military his absolute support, and I assure you that there is the political will to remove the last vestiges of this menace from our country.

“It is important to restate that the menace of terrorism in Nigeria does not exclusively target any religious or ethnic group. As in many parts of the world, extremism is mindless, blind to religion, tribe or class. It is a war against all peace-loving Nigerians and against the unity and progress of our great nation.

“Therefore, any narrative suggesting that the Nigerian State is failing to take action against religious attacks is based on misinformation or faulty data,” the minister said.

Idris also maintained that the Federal Government would continue to partner with the US to rout terrorists out of Nigeria.

He said: “We shall continue to make the suspects accountable for disrupting the peace of our country, in consonance with the rule of law. The Federal Government will not recline until the remnants of these hounds of death are permanently removed.

“Nigeria faces longstanding security challenges that have impacted Christians and Muslims alike, and we mourn every loss of life, knowing that even a single loss of life is one too many.

“In the past eight months, the Nigerian military has neutralised over 592 terrorists in Borno State alone. Over 13,500 terrorists and armed criminals have been neutralised. More than 17,000 arrests were made. Over 11,200 hostages were freed. More importantly, over 124,000 insurgents and their families surrendered, handing over more than 11,000 weapons. In the North-West, especially Zamfara and Kaduna, 11,250 hostages have been freed, and some of the terror leaders, Ali Kachala, Boderi, Halilu Sububu, have been neutralised. In August, the military intercepted and killed, in one fell swoop, over 400 armed bandits who had converged to attack a village in Zamfara.”