The National Security Adviser, retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, has blamed the media for the increased bandit attacks around the Federal Capital Territory.
Monguno stated this at the emergency meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday in Abuja.
He stated that Nigeria is currently facing an asymmetric conflict which is a collective effort, citing that it is not something that should be confined to only the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
What the National Security Adviser is saying
Monguno, who stated that the Council is concerned about the nature of media reporting incidents with regard to insecurity, said:
“It is important for the media to understand that certain reports being generated by the media, either the way, the manner in which they report can also aggravate this delicate situation.
“So Council is urging the media to be very careful in whatever it reports, whatever gets out to the public space, can have a debilitating effect on the population.
He also urged the political elite to take into account the consequences of utterances, especially from people who have established a reputation, people who are considered leaders of thought, and people who are considered to have some kind of influence in society.
“Whatever goes out, may be harmful, not just to the government, if that is the intention, which I doubt may not be a deliberate thing, but at the end of the day, it will affect the wider society”.
“We are in a very difficult situation. And Council understands. Mr. President understands people’s concerns about the growing insecurity.
“But I can assure you that there’s no straight cut and dried method of dealing with this thing unless all of us embrace each other,” he added.
He said the meeting was convened by the President as a continuation of the meeting that took place last week to discuss the technical issues and the taskings that were given to the various security agencies.
“Again, Council deems it necessary to inform the general public, that fighting this type of asymmetric conflict is a collective effort. It’s not something that should be confined to only the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
“When we keep saying the whole of society approach, whole of government approach, to get a whole of national approach, what it means is that everybody has to partake in this enterprise.’’
In case you missed it
- Nairametrics reported yesterday that the Federal Government says it will sanction the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Daily Trust for their airing of different documentaries glorifying and fuelling terrorism in Nigeria.
- Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said that the NBC, which is the regulatory body, is looking at which part of the broadcasting code has been violated by both the BBC and the Daily Trust and as well as determine the appropriate sanctions to be meted out to them, assured that there will be consequences.
- The minister said, “All I can say is that there is a regulatory body regulating broadcasting which is the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and they are also aware of these two incidents.
- “They are looking at which part of the Broadcasting Code that has been violated by both the BBC and the Daily Trust and I can assure you that there will be consequence.’’