Nigerian security forces can track terrorists, says Buratai

Former Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai, has said Nigeria’s security agencies possess the capacity to track down bandits and terrorists just as effectively as they track ordinary citizens and social media influencers.

Mr Buratai made the assertion during an interview on TVC on Monday, while stressing the need for increased recruitment, training and retraining of personnel across the country’s security architecture.

According to him, security agencies have the capability to locate criminal elements, but require sustained capacity building and manpower enhancement to improve their effectiveness.

“I don’t believe security agencies cannot locate bandits if they can locate ordinary citizens and social media influencers,” Mr Buratai said.

“However, I would not like to describe it as a capacity challenge, but I think they may have their reasons. What I know is that there must be continuous capacity building for all the security agencies.

“We need more troops to be recruited. More operatives and more policemen need to be recruited, trained and retrained to effectively address the country’s security challenges,” he added.

The former army chief maintained that strengthening the capacity of security institutions through improved training and increased personnel would enhance the fight against terrorism, banditry and other forms of criminality across the country.