military check points across the country.
Police are now to take charge of the internal security.
The decision was taken at the meeting the president had with military
chiefs at the State House yesterday.
It was the first major meeting the president had on his first day at
work at the Presidential Villa, which he moved into on Sunday, 23 days
after he was sworn into office.
He operated from the Defence House which he used as the president-elect.
Ministry of Defence Permanent Secretary Alhaji Ismail Aliyu, spoke to
reporters after about five hours defence briefing.
He said the Boko Haram insurgency will soon be over.
According to him, the Lake Chad Basin Commission nations have
fashioned a new strategy to tackle insecurity.
He said: "The President has instructed the Chief of Defence Staff to
get the Chief of Army Staff and Inspector General of Police to remove
all the military men along the road across the country.
"The Nigerian Armed Forces are very ready, we have briefed him. One
most interesting thing about it is that we are going out much happier
because he has shown to us that he is still a soldier, he has updated
and enriched our strategic plans.
"Second item that was discussed is the movement of the command centre
to the NorthEast. We have briefed him (president) on how far we have
reached on that and he has given us some additional assignment, but
very soon the centre will be on.
"I also want to assure Nigerians that with what we have come out with
from this meeting, we are very enthusiastic that the issue of Boko
Haram will soon be over. He has given us hope that we will see peace
and security in the near future .
On what will be done differently, he said: "Now we have come as a
united front, we have Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Niger. We have all
strategised and we are coming out with one type of strategy that we
are going to address the Boko Haram with, unlike before.
He said that the issue of change of service chiefs did not come up.
On the absence of the Inspector-General of Police and the
Director-General of the Department of Security Service (DSS) and
others from the meeting, he said: "This is not a national security
meeting. This is a briefing meeting by the Ministry of Defence on the
operationalisation of the Multi-National Joint Task Force and the
relocation of the command control centre to the Northeast. So, it is
something restricted to the ministry of Defence."
Buhari orders removal of soldiers from non-essential check points
A statement on the meeting by the president's media office said:
"Buhari reaffirmed his administration's total commitment to ending the
Boko Haram insurgency in the shortest possible time.
"He welcomed the progress report he was given on the implementation of
his order that the Military Command Control Centre be relocated to
Maiduguri.
"President Buhari who, in keeping with the declared priorities of his
government, made the meeting with defence and security chiefs the top
item on his schedule on his first day at work in the Presidential
Villa.
"He also expressed satisfaction at the progress made so far in the
implementation of the decision of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to
fast-track the deployment of the Multinational Joint Task Force based
in Ndjamena.
"The defence and security chiefs who met with the President and Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo for over three and half hours and also briefed
them on the refurbishment of existing military platforms and the
acquisition of new weapons for the Armed Forces."
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