By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

• Nigeria is bleeding

• Chad border shut

The Federal Government on Thursday reiterated its determination to eliminate all perceived threats to Nigeria’s  security by insurgents, secessionists, herders and bandits.

The government said it would not fold its arms and watch the nation  bleed due to the activities of ethnoreligious agitators.

It added that some Boko Haram sponsors had already been arrested, especially in Kano State  and that  “a good number” of  persons caught in connection with the killing of 11 soldiers in Benue State would soon be prosecuted.

Defence Minister Bashir Magashi made these known  during the weekly ministerial briefing  organised by the Presidential Communication Team in Abuja.

Magashi, who  also said  the  government “won’t take lightly”  the murder  of the  soldiers in Benue State, disclosed that security has been up at the Nigeria-Chad borders to avert the spill-over of the crisis caused by  President Idriss Deby’s killing by rebels.

He lamented  that while   domestic terrorism had  reduced,  other problems arising from intolerance orchestrated by the elite had heightened.

Read Also; Fed Govt cautions elites promoting disintegration

Magashi disclosed that government  already has  a comprehensive report on those compromising national security.

He said: “Make no mistakes that our nation is bleeding now. It is bleeding because of the self-interest and other primordial considerations underlying decisions, which quite a number of our elite; political, ethnic and religious, make it so. Such elite are quick to attribute blames to groups other than theirs.

“The whole idea is to exploit the social division for their political gains and it is because of this divisiveness that Nigeria lacks a national consensus or common comprehensive understanding and the interpretation of what national security is e.g Boko Haram, farmers/herders clashes, IPOB(Independent People of Biafra) and other political  associations that are coming up with different mandates and different concerns.

“All these can encourage groups to seek violence as a legitimate alternative.

“This is why we’re seeing the rise of self -help syndrome, often endorsed by states and local elite seeking violence as a legitimate alternative.

“The rise in vigilantism and identity-based militia, who claim to be working for the political and ethnoreligious emancipation of their people, a.k.a  resource control, secession and regional  self-determination, define the potent threats to our national security.

According to  the  minister, government   has  taken  a position on the comprehensive report on the security situation in the country.

He said: “We have made a comprehensive brief as far as the security of this country is concerned and the methods we want to use in ensuring that we strategically and tactically get rid of all enemies of this country, be  they political, religious    or ethnic enemies

“We have taken our position, which I don’t want to preempt here. We are just trying to inform you(reporters) of our impression and our concern as far as the security of this country is concerned”

On  the killing of  soldiers, Magashi said the   position of the military had  been communicated to   Benue State Governor  Samuel Ortom.

He disclosed that nine weapons   carted away from the deceased soldiers had been retrieved.

His words: “The military is not taking the latest burning of soldiers kindly.   I have seen the governor and we told him the blatant truth about the position of the military. Whoever touches the military has no regard for this country and this country.

“We have been very firm, we have succeeded in reiterating to them what we actually want and we have got some answers that the weapons that were captured from the soldiers have been retrieved, at least we have nine of them out of 12 and some of the perpetrators have been captured and taken to the police for proper interrogation and subsequent prosecution.”

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