Bwala lists FG’s strategies to end insurgency, kidnapping

The Nigerian Federal Government is implementing a multi-pronged strategy to address the persistent challenges of insurgency, banditry, and kidnapping across the nation. Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, outlined these measures, emphasizing the need to bolster security forces to match the country's population and vast landmass.

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We are investing in training and retraining. First of all, we’re investing in recruiting more security personnel because the one we have, they are not sufficient to match with the population and the land mass.

"We are investing in training and retraining. First of all, we’re investing in recruiting more security personnel because the one we have, they are not sufficient to match with the population and the land mass," Bwala stated during a panel discussion. A portion of these new recruits will be trained as forest guards to counter terrorists exploiting forests for illegal mining and resource extraction.

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We needed to send people to the forest, so we have to recruit more and send them to forest guards as forest guards. Those ones, the terrorists, are also stealing our mines and resources.

Beyond increasing personnel, the government is enhancing its technological capabilities. Drones and advanced interception systems are being deployed for round-the-clock surveillance. Bwala noted, "We’re investing in technological devices that, in modern days, help us when we are sleeping, which is the drone system, interception and all that." The police, military, and State Security Service are also undergoing expansion, alongside intensified marine security operations.

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We’re investing in technological devices that, in modern days, help us when we are sleeping, which is the drone system, interception and all that.

Internationally, Nigeria is strengthening its counterterrorism partnerships. The country is collaborating with its Sahel neighbors and has initiated a joint military partnership with the United States, a first in its history. Special forces have completed initial operations, and other units remain to provide classified training. Bwala described kidnappings and abductions as a "crisis economy," suggesting that these crimes are sometimes perpetrated for financial gain.

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We will not tell the world the nature of the training. We don’t want our enemies to know. There are certain things that are classified because we don’t say it, people tend to think government is not working.