On Wednesday Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, Nigeria’s Senate President told security chiefs at a meeting with the Senate leadership that the level of insecurity in the country is frightening.
He said there was nothing to show that the huge investments by the federal government in security was yielding any result, given that the spate of attacks was so recurrent as if the nation had no security at all.
Lawan’s remark was at the backdrop of the terrorists’ siege to the Federal Capital Territory with serious casualties.
The meeting was at the instance of the Senate leadership in view of the more worrisome dimension the security challenges have turned.
“The current situation is now frightening as there is now nowhere to go and nowhere to hide as the FCT, the seat of Government is now under siege.
“The security concerns have crippled the economy and key sectors, notably agriculture,” he said, describing it as unfortunate.
Lawan added that there was need for security agents to look into ungoverned spaces, adding that it had become so bad that Nigeria was no longer attractive to foreign direct investment.
He identified low national revenue and crude oil theft as key areas of concern to Nigerians.
In his short reaction before they went into closed-door meeting, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor said issues of national security must be seen from a collective perspective.
“A lot has happened, a lot is being done to improve the security situation of the country,” he said.